Broken Halves
by Serpentarrow
Summary: When Katniss volunteers for the Hunger Games to save her sister, she never would have dreamed she would meet someone like Clove. Clove never dreamed she would ever feel the way she feels about Katniss. What will the two do when they are thrown into the arena where they must fight to the death?
1. Chapter 1

_Warnings: This fic is going to contain self harm and abuse, just putting that out there in case that triggers anyone. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games (obviously) just playing around with the characters because it's fun. Hope you enjoy. _

* * *

_Katniss POV:_

A squirrel scrambles halfway down a tree. It stops and raises its head, sniffing the air as if sensing danger. I release the bow sting and an arrow shoots out from the bush where I'm hiding, impaling the creature through the eye, killing it instantly. It falls from the tree and hits the ground with a thump.

"Nice shot Katniss." Gale calls as he pulls himself out of a different bush and picks up the still twitching animal.

"Hmm." I reply from the bush where I'm hiding. I pull myself out of the bush and approach my friend.

"Hmm? Only hmm? Come on Katniss, what's up?" Gale, who has short black hair and a grin on his face nudges me jokingly.

"It sensed me before I hit it, I need to be better at being undetected." I state, I stare at the boy in front of me emotionlessly. He shrugs and shoves the squirrel into a bag that already holds 4 other squirrels.

"The others didn't sense you." He mutters but I ignore him, brushing past him I take a few steps deeper into the forest. I look up at the trees and spot a Pigeon. Quickly I nock an arrow and shoot at it. The arrow hits the bird in the chest and it flops to the ground where it lies motionless.

"I'm sorry Gale, I just need to get better at hunting, I need to be able to support my family." I don't look at him as I pick the bird up, my family means so much to me. Well half of it anyway. I can't care less about my mother, but Prim, my sister. I'd do anything for her.

That's why I'm out in the forest, illegally poaching. Even though no one is going to use the forest nor do the peacekeepers care much as long as they don't actually catch you in the act. My father taught me everything I need to know about the forest, how to hunt, what plants were good to eat and what plants to stay away from, that was all before he died, I scowl and try to push those thoughts to the back of my mind.

I stroll to a large tree and settle down underneath it. Gale follows, dropping the bags near me and sitting down next to me. "You're a good hunter and you know it." Gale says softly looking at me with gentle brown eyes. He smiles and takes my hand. "So what's really up?"

I scowl at him pulling my hand away and tossing my braided hair over my shoulder. I don't want to talk to Gale about this. It's true I can feed her family with my hunting and gathering. I've been supporting her family for years. Gale sighs and picks up the dead pigeon I had left on the ground near my feet, shoving it into the bag with the squirrels, he gets up, stretching, showing off his well-muscled build.

"I saw some ripe strawberries not far from here, want to pick some before we check the traps and head back?" I nod and follow my friend. He's used to me being distant, briefly I wonder why he sticks with me. I suppose it was difficult to find a good hunting partner.

The traps have caught us 3 more squirrels and 2 rabbits, Gale is amazing with traps, he taught me how to make them but I'm never going to be as good as him. He also seems to just know the perfect places to set them up that would yield the best results.

We stop by a large tree where I hide her bow and arrows, Weapons aren't allowed inside the district fence and if the peacekeepers knew about my Bow they'd confiscate it and I'd be flogged. We begin spitting up our find. 4 squirrels each, a rabbit and some strawberries. "You keep the pigeon," Gale smiles as he hands me the bird. "You shot it down after all." I nod and accept the bird. I know Gale won't take no for an answer.

Gale leaves first, it was best to re-enter the district alone so as not to create suspicion. I settle myself down and sigh. I live with my mother and sister in a small house in District 12. The poorest district of Panem. My father had died in a mining accident years ago and from then on I'd had to support my family as myr mother just retreated into herself.

I angrily punch the tree, how dare my mother do that, how dare she. Somewhere at the back of my mind I know that I'm being unfair but I squash those thoughts before I can dwell on them. I don't want to understand my mother, I want to be angry, because I know that the anger is one of three things that stops me from doing the same.

I clench her jaw and curl into a ball. I feel like crying when I think of how my father died and my mother just gave up, but I can't cry, I haven't cried since I was very young, what's the point? Tears won't fix anything and they never will.

I look up at the leaves of the tree I'm under. I think of my sister, the second thing stopping me from doing exactly what my mother had done. Prim is 12 years old, she's sweet and kind, there's not a person in district 12 that doesn't like Primrose Everdeen. I smile but it soon fades when I remember what my sisters age means. This year is the first year Prim will be in the reaping.

A long time ago the districts had rebelled against the Capitol, the rebellion had been crushed and as punishment the Capitol had decreed that every year a girl and boy from the ages 12 to 18 from each district would be selected to fight in the Hunger Games. I shudder at the thought.

In the Hunger Games 24 tributes went in to fight to the death, only one came out. What's worse is that the whole thing is televised and it is against the law not to watch it. That was one law the peacekeepers would not overlook, they would drag people out on the street and force them to watch it on the giant TV screens in the square. The only way to get out of watching it is if you are on your death bed.

The reaping is in 2 weeks. I'm dreading it, I take a shuddering breath and decide it's time to return home. Sneaking back into my district through a hole in the fence I start to head home. On the way I stop to sell some of my catch at the Hob. The Hob is the black market of District 12, even the peacekeepers know about it but they don't mind it's presence, you can even sometimes see them trading there when they want to buy some extra meat.

Once I've sold most of my meat, as I need some money for things I can't make or gather myself, I return home with 2 squirrels and the pigeon as well as some strawberries for dinner that night. Prim greets me happily, hugging me around the waist, I smile and hug her back tightly.

Later that night, after Prim and my mother have gone to bed I find myself sitting in the chair by the dining table. I bury my face in my hands. I'm thinking about the reaping, It's so close. I glance over to the room where my sister and mother are sleeping, our house only has two rooms, three if you count the outhouse, we have a room for living in and a room for sleeping.

I squeeze my eyes shut leaning back in the chair I can't take this, I'm terrified my sister will be selected for the Hunger Games, regardless of the fact her name is only in once and I feel completely hopeless since I can't do anything about it.

I sigh, repressing the urge to hit the table, I mustn't wake up my family. Silently I grab my hunting bag and reach into a small compartment. This compartment holds nothing but a small pen knife that I bought from the hob a few years ago. I roll up my sleeve, looking down at it in the candle light I run my fingers against the straight parallel scars, as well as the cuts in various stages of healing.

Slowly I open out the knife blade, I need this, I can't get by without doing this. This is the third thing that keeps me from doing exactly what my mother did. From withdrawing into myself in pain and hopelessness.

I lower the blade onto my arm, selecting a mostly blank space. Pressing down slightly I savagely draw the knife across leaving a thin line of red. I sigh in relief as the blood starts to seep out of the wound. Carefully I lift the knife once more a put 3 more lines on her arm. It feels good, as if all the fear and hopelessness is just flowing away with the blood.

I carefully stop the bleeding by holding a scrap of cloth to the wounds and bandage my arm up. After cleaning my knife I stash it back into my bag and creep into bed. I should be able to get to sleep now.

* * *

**_2 Weeks Later:_**

I wake up and stretch. Glancing around I see my mother and sister are still asleep. Perfect, I think as I get up. I quickly get dressed and leave the house. It's reaping day and I have agreed to meet Gale before he reaping. I sneak out of the district and go to the tree where I hide my bow.

Once I've retrieved it I settle myself down to wait for Gale. This tree is far enough away from the fence for me to feel comfortable hunting so I casually take down a couple of birds with my bow. After retrieving them I stash them in my hunting bag. Just as I've done this I hear a crack. Glancing up I can't see Gale anywhere. Narrowing my eyes I cautiously climb the tree. Gale and I aren't the only hunters in the forest, I know this. We often came across wolves and other predators but we knew to steer clear of these dangerous animals.

Surveying my surrounding from my vantage point I spot something that makes me do a double take. A deer, it has been months since I've seen a deer and selling the meat would bring in a nice profit as well as feed my family for a few days. Carefully I nock an arrow and take aim.

"And what do you plan to do with that when you kill it?" A loud voice shouts behind me. The deer startles and runs away, I angrily turn to see Gale with his irritating lopsided grin on his face.

"Dahm it Gale, that could have fed my family for weeks with the money I'd get from it." I snap.

"Who would you sell it too? The place is crawling with peacekeepers." Gale folds his arms. I scowl in irritation, he's right of course, although usually peacekeepers turn a blind eye to our poaching the reaping day brought more peacekeepers from the capitol who might not be so lenient.

Gale throws a rock at a bush causing a flock of pigeons to rise from it. My reflexes kick in and I manage to shoot a couple down before the rest escape. We go to collect the kill and walk deeper into the forest. After collecting a few wild berries that were edible we settle down in a clearing.

"I got you something." Gale whispers. He grins as he reaches into his bag and retrieves a bread roll and some cheese.

"Is that real!" I ask ecstatically, real bread and cheese is a luxury for us since we can rarely afford it. Gale laughs.

"It better be, it cost me 3 squirrels." We split the bread, cheese and berries and settle down to eat. Gale holds up is half of the roll. "Happy Hunger Games." He shouts sarcastically in a fake Capitol accent. I smile at his joke, raising my own half of the roll in the air as well.

"And may the odds be _ever_ in your favour." I reply just as sarcastically, I nudge him playfully and he laughs at me as he nudges me back. With that we bite in to the delicious food and I lose herself momentarily to the wonderful flavour.

"We should run away." Gale states. I give him a sideways glance.

"You wouldn't get far." I remind him, The Capitol would pursue and catch those who tried to run and probably kill them.

"We could do it you know, we could hide in the forest, who knows it better than us? We'd could hunt and forage to survive." Gale insists, I just shake my head.

"What about our families, we couldn't leave them behind and they couldn't survive out here." Gale sighs in defeat, he looks away from me. "We couldn't leave them to fend for themselves here either."

"I know, I just…" Gale shakes his head. I nudge him playfully in the hopes of cheering him up but it doesn't seem to work. Gale looks me in the eyes, I can see how conflicted he is. He places his hand on mine.

"My family could, but I know you won't leave Prim and... I won't leave you." He confesses softly. I scowl and pull away. I know Gale fancies me, he makes it obvious enough. We both sigh and look away.

I glance at him, he's handsome enough with his strong jaw and a miners build. He has dark eyes that are often hard but seem to soften when he looks at me and I do love his grin. Most of the girls that met him fall head over hills in love with him. But I can't, I have never found the opposite sex attractive. Even when other girls my age were swooning over various boys I just remained oddly indifferent.

I shrug, I don't have time for relationships, I'm glad that I haven't ever had a crush. A crush would distract me from what I have to do. My sister needs me and I hope never to fall in love.

I return home to prepare for the reaping. I have a bath and put on a blue dress that my mother has lain out for me. She smiles when she sees me, I just nod toward her and hug my sister. I suppress the worry for her and follow her outside. As we approach the square where the reaping will be held I get increasingly nervous. Prim holds my hand until we arrive. We line up for our DNA to be tested. This is done so parents can't pretend to be their children in order to save them. I glance at my mother who's standing in the crowd of parents with an emotionless face. Not that my mother would anyway.

We all stand in rows, the boys on one side and the girls on the other leaving a walkway between them. The youngest stand at the front and the oldest at the back. I stand one section from the back and watch the proceedings nervously.

Effie Trinket, a woman from the capitol that has been sent to the district to read out the names of the tributes and escort them to the capitol stepped forward on the stage. She's wearing bright pink and I vaguely think that her make up made her look like a pink clown.

Effie plays a 2 minute video on the giant TV screen behind her that rambles about the reason the Hunger Games exists. Once it's finished Effie smiles at the audience. "Happy Hunger Games everyone, and may the odds be ever in your favour!" She shouts happily, She clasps her hands together as she smiles at the nervous faces around her. "Now I shall select the tributes of District 12, as usual ladies first."

I hold my breath as Effie reaches into a glass bowl filled with envelopes, I know one of those envelopes holds Prim's name, as well as several that hold mine. When you are 12 your name was put in one, and then twice when you were 13 and 3 times when your 14 and so on until you reached 19 and you were free from the reaping. If you were poor you were allowed to apply for tesserae, this put your name in another time. My name is entered 20 times since I'd been forced to apply for tesserae before I learned was brave enough to enter the forest without my father.

Effie pulls an envelope out and opens it. Smiling she reads the names and shouts out in that sickly happy voice, "Primrose Everdeen!"

I feel myself go cold, no, no it can't be. Not my sister, not Prim. No! I see my trembling sister step forward. "No!" I shout, pushing through the crowd to the walkway. Peacekeepers move to hold me back but I push past them . "No!" Prim can't go, my sister will be killed in the hunger games. "I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!" I shout frantically. Anything to stop Prim being put into those vile games.

The crowd is silent, everyone stares at me in surprise. The two peacekeepers that had moved to hold me back shrug and step back allowing me to walk towards the stage. I share a look with my sister who's was staring at me in bewilderment.

Effie happily extends her hand to me beckoning me onto the stage. "We have a volunteer! What would your name be?"

"Katniss, Katniss Everdeen." I stare out at the crowd. It was unusual for District 12 to get a volunteer. Volunteers were usually from the richer districts such as district 1 and 2. They tended to be people who had trained their whole life for the hunger games and by the time they volunteered they were pretty lethal, they won it most years. We call them Careers.

"I'd bet my hat that was your sister." Effie states happily, indicating to Prim, I just nod feeling as though I'll be sick if I opened my mouth. The crowd stares and as one the crowd places the middle 3 fingers of their hand to their mouth and hold them up toward me. I swallow hard, that sign is rarely used, usually at funerals. It means goodbye to someone who was deeply respected.

Once the crowd has put their hands down Effie coughs, "Right so now how about the boys." She reaches into the bowl and pulls out an envelope. "Peeta Mellark." She shouts cheerfully as she reads the name.

I bite my lip, I know this boy, he saved my family's life so many years ago. When my father had died and my mother had withdrawn into herself we all had almost starved. We would have done if Peeta hadn't burned some bread and thrown it to me, earning some painful looking bruises from his mother.

No one volunteers for Peeta, he steps forward onto the stage. We are pulled away to separate rooms in the Justice Building.

Prim and my mother come to visit me in the room. They say goodbye and Prim cries as she hugs me. I turn to my mother. "You must not go away again, you have to look out for Prim, alright!?" I say aggressively, my mother nods slowly "I mean it!" She agrees and I hug her. I feel as if I owe her that much.

Once my family has left Madge enters, Madge is the mayors daughter and is the same age as me, we often hang out together at school, I like her because she's not very talkative and neither am I so we just tend to sit in companionable silence.

"That was really brave. "She smiles sadly at me and hands me a pin, the pin has a mockingjay on it. The mockingjay is a kind of bird. The Capitol created a genetically modified breed of bird that was exclusively male called the jabberjay.

The jabberjay could copy human conversations but they weren't very selective about what they copied, So the Capitol released the bird and they interbred with the mockingbird creating a new breed of bird that could replicate human song. My father loved the mockingjays and would often sing to them.

"Will you wear it? As your token?" I nod, Tributes are allowed to take something into the arena as a token to remind them of home. Madge hugs me before leaving and I sit down feeling drained. In a few days I'll be thrown into an arena with 23 other people who all want to kill me. Briefly wonder how long I'll survive.

Gale bursts into the room. "Katniss, listen to me, you can win this, I know you can." He exclaims. He places his hands on my shoulders and looks into my eyes. "Just find a bow, you're better than them."

"They might not have a bow." I tell him remembering the year where the only weapons were rocks. but he just shakes his head.

"Then make one, I know you can do it Katniss." He squeezes my shoulders and leaves. I think I see a few tears in his eyes as he leaves. I sigh and bury my face in my hands. I hate the Hunger Games and the Capitol and the people who cheer for this disgusting game. I hate them all I think viciously. I reach for my arm and twist the skin, causing last nights cuts to sting. I sigh as the pain calms me slightly.

Peacekeepers enter the room and lead me to a car. I sit in the back with Peeta the other side and Effie in the middle. She's talking but I'm not listening I'm too busy trying not to think about how I'm going to dead in a few days.


	2. Chapter 2

_Clove POV:_

I wake up and stretch, when I remember that today is I grin, today is the reaping. I excitedly get out of bed. I have a shower and get dressed. Today I am going to go through with my plan. I exit my room and listen, my father is snoring loudly in the other room. Quietly I grab some breakfast and leave the house, not wanting him to wake.

If I avoid him for the rest of the day I'll never have to see him again. I grin at this thought. I look down I have everything I need. My throwing knives, although I'll leave them at the training centre since I'd never be allowed to take them with me and the dress I'm going to wear for the reaping, stashed safely in my backpack.

Today I'm going to volunteer for the Hunger Games. My district is not going to like it, I smirk at the thought of pissing off so many people. I just need to be quicker than that idiot girl who's been selected by the trainers. She was at the training centre of course. Etta and Cato the two tributes that were selected to volunteer for the Hunger Games. Except one of them wouldn't be going, I'd be going instead.

Etta smiles at me bitchily, I simply glare at her as I turn to the knife throwing station. Cato saunters over to me and I have to resist the urge to throw a knife straight through his skull. "Hey there Clove." He says huskily, "Wanna say goodbye to your favourite tribute?" He puts his arm around me and I see red. I throw him over my shoulder and he almost hits his head on the knife stand.

"Like you'd ever be my favourite anything, pretty boy." I snarl. I hate being touched, it makes me feel vulnerable. I hate Cato too, he's an arrogant bastard and I hope he dies in the Hunger games. Of course he would, It would be from my knife.

"Come on Clove ,don't be like that, I know you want me." And he goes to grab me again but I hold a knife to his throat.

"Back the fuck off Cato." I glare at him while he wisely backs off, I'm absolutely disgusted by him. Etta strolls over flicking her blond hair back.

"Chill out Clove, it's not like you're going into the Hunger Games." She smirks and I clench my jaw, wanting very much to slit her throat. Both Etta and I had been finalists to become District 2's tribute. But she had won because the Trainers had deemed her 'more likable'

I scowl and turn back to my knife throwing. This is what I'm good at, I never miss. It's easy for me, just tossing knives at target, hearing the satisfying think as they hit their mark, in a fraction of a second calculating the exact amount of force I needed to use to get them where I wanted, this was what I was meant to do.

Sometimes when things got too much I'd sneak into the training centre and just throw knives. It made me forget things for a while. I also practiced with the other weapons but no other weapon called to me as much as the knives did.

I'd been planning this for about 6 months and since then every day I'd made it to the training centre to practice and sharpen my skills. I would win these games and move to the Victors Village and never see my father again. That or I'd die trying and also never see my father again, so in my mind I was winning no matter what. I just have to volunteer before Etta.

I stand in my place waiting for the prissy Capitol woman to pull out the name from the glass ball. You were only allowed to volunteer after the name was spoken. I prayed it wouldn't be mine, for if it was mine my plan would be ruined I'd be unable to volunteer and Etta would volunteer and I'd be stuck with my father for another year.

"Etta Fala." The woman called. I grinned, perfect, time to show up that little bitch. It was surprising the selected tribute just happened to be the one the woman called out but I didn't care.

"I volunteer as tribute!" I called, smirking at Etta's outraged face. Happily I strode forward ignoring the glares around me. Everyone here knew I wasn't the selected tribute, everyone knew I was breaking the rules of the training centre but I didn't care. I knew there was nothing they could do about it.

The penalty for this was no funeral, should you fall in the games, but I didn't care. It wouldn't matter if I died, I'd be dead and away from my father. If I won, well then I'd be a victor and untouchable by the trainers although they would not allow me to become a trainer or peacekeeper, but what do I care about that? I have no interest in being around idiots like Cato anymore than I had to.

The boys are called and Cato volunteered as planned. He grins at me when he's standing next to me. "Just couldn't bear to be away from me eh?" He whispers and I have to resist the urge to break his nose right there.

My father comes to see me in the waiting room. This surprises me since he cares nothing for me. I look up at him keeping my expression blank. He stared at me with his arms folded. "What was that all about Clove?" When he says my name I flinch at the amount of venom.

"I'm going to the Hunger Games, Dad." I spit, he can't hurt me anymore, I'm free. He glares at me.

"You're going to die." With that he grabs me by the scruff of my neck and punches me hard in the stomach. He smirks and leaves me winded on the floor. I wasn't expecting that, apparently he could hurt me one last time. The peacekeeper in the corner of the room simply watches me emotionlessly. I know I've pissed a lot of people off doing what I did, including, obviously this peacekeeper who is from my district.

"You've disgraced your district." He says eventually, I look up at him, daring him to continue, to hurt me like my father, he stands over me. He holds out his hand, offering to help me up " But if you win we won't hate you, I've seen you. You're the knife girl. I think you could win if you tried hard enough." I nod, ignoring his hand I pull myself to my feet.

On the train I sit next to Cato in front of a TV screen, our mentors sit next to us as we watch the re-runs of the reapings in the other districts. We're on District 12. I snort when the girls names is called and a 12 year old steps forward, she won't last long I think as a scream comes from another girl. The camera switches to the screaming girl.

My eyes widen, this girl is the most beautiful person I've ever seen. Her eyes, which are wide with fear and panic, are a beautiful light brown colour. Her face is thin and her pale skin is perfect, her hair is tied into a braid and tossed over her shoulder. My heart skips a beat and I find myself unable to look away.

"I volunteer! I volunteer as Tribute!" She shouts and I suppress a gasp. She steps forward and the Capitol woman asks her name. "Katniss, Katniss Everdeen."

"Katniss." I say out loud causing everyone in the room to glance at me. Even the sound of her name is beautiful . I glare at everyone until they turn back to the TV. So this is one of the tributes that I will be up against. I look away. She volunteered not for the same reason the careers always did, I didn't think she was the kind of person to want glory. She just wanted to save her sister. I scowled and got up.

"Where are you going? The boy hasn't been selected yet." My mentor calls after me as I leave the room. I don't know why but I have to find this girl. I know she's on the train. District 12 is the first to get on the train since they're the furthest away from the Capitol.

It takes me a while to get to the District 12 carriage at the back of the train. Once there I realise I shouldn't have come here. What excuse would I give? I was a career and I shouldn't talk to District 12 tributes. A boy exits a room, He is young and looks afraid. I guess that he is the male tribute of District 12. I'm about to leave before he sees me when she follows him.

The boy doesn't notice me, he seems to be to wrapped up in his thought as walks into another room which I assume is his sleeping quarters. The girl however does notice be. Katniss, I stare at her and she stares back. She doesn't look afraid, she looks reserved. She steps forward and holds out her hand.

"HI, you're Clove from 2 aren't you, I'm Katniss, from 12." She says unsurely. I stare at her hand and do something I've never done before, I initiate contact. I take her hand and shake it.

"Yeah, I guess you saw the reaping of 2." I say as I release her hand. My hand is tingling slightly and I'm not sure why. My heart hammers in my chest as I meet her eyes.

She nods, "We just finished watching the re-runs."

"I saw your reaping…I just..." I'm not sure what I want to say, Why am I even here? She stares at me and shrugs. At that moment a capitol woman exits with a tall blonde man. The man stares at me with unfocused eyes and while the woman smiles at me.

The woman is obviously from the capitol and the man, well, he's obviously not only District 12's only victor but drunk as well. I despise the act of drinking alcohol, which just so happens to be one of my father's favourite pastimes. I glare at him.

"Er, this is Effie my escort and Haymitch my mentor." Katniss introduces quickly. I nod and glare at them both. Effie grins and approached me.

"You must be the tribute from district 2, I'm so glad to meet you." She smiles holding out her hand. I glare at it and scrunch my face up in disgust. My hand still tingles from Katniss's firm but gentle touch and I'm unwilling to sully that with the touch of a Capitol woman who delights in watching children kill each other.

An awkward silence follows and Effie slowly retreats her hand. "Well I'll be in my room if you need me Katniss." She smiles and leaves. Haymitch glances between us before walking in the opposite direction to what I presume is his room.

"Er…." Katniss looks at me unsurely. "Do you er... want to hang out, there's more food here than we need." She indicates to the room she' standing outside and I can see uneaten food on the table. I'm tempted to accept her offer. But being around this girl makes me feel strange and I shake my head.

"I should probably get back to my carriage. It was good to meet you Katniss." I smile, a real genuine smile and she smiles back making my stomach does a backflip. I turn and leave without another word, feeling as if I'm walking on air. I go straight to my room once I make it back to my carriage. I don't want to talk to anyone.


	3. Chapter 3

_Katniss POV:_

I watch the girl leave, I can't help but stare. This girl from District 2 is strange. I remember watching her reaping. When she volunteered everyone seemed to glare at her. As if they didn't want her to be their tribute. When she stepped forward to volunteer I thought she looked so beautiful.

The way she held herself with confidence and yet at the same time seemed to be watching everything warily. Those eyes which I thought were the most perfect shade of green betrayed her fear. I doubted anyone really looked past that blank look and the glare though.

I shake my head to clear it and enter my room. I shouldn't be thinking about this girl, in the arena she'd be trying to kill me just like the other tributes. But I can't seem to get her out of my head. "Clove." I whisper, the name rolls of my tongue and sounds like music to me.

It's late and I'm lying in bed. I can't sleep, I sigh and get up I decide to go sit in the communal room of the train. This is the room that doubles for a dining room and a TV room. I'm surprised when I see a dark shape by the doorway that leads further up the train. "Who's there?" I call and a girl steps into the light. I instantly recognise the girl who is the reason I can't sleep. "Clove! What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Couldn't sleep." She shrugs, smiling slightly. The smile makes my insides twist and I find myself holding my breath. "Just thought I'd see if you were still awake, why are you up?" She asks, I shrug.

"Couldn't sleep." I murmur. She nods and glances around. "We could hang out in my room if you'd like." I say hopefully, I'm not sure why, but I hope she'll stay. She nods and follows me back to my room.

We sit on the bed. "So…" I trail off, not sure what to talk about.

"What's it like in 12?" She asks curiously, breaking the silence. I shrug and tell her about my home, about struggling to survive and even dare to tell her about my poaching. I'm not sure if I should be telling her this since she'll be my enemy soon, but...I don't want her to be my enemy. I stop talking and ask her about her district.

"Well, at the age of 9 everyone is sent to the training centre to train and if you're good enough you get a scholarship there. The training centre either sets you up to become a peacekeeper or a tribute…" She looks away thoughtfully.

"We don't exactly starve, there's enough food to go around but no one's fat, there's quite a few pubs around and a lot of people like to waste their money getting drunk." She stops and I sense that this is a sensitive topic.

"I live with my father, my mother died a long time ago." She finishes. She's not looking at me, I stare at her a while.

"I live with my sister and my mother, my father died in a mining accident when I was young." I tell her. She glances at me and takes my hand, squeezing it slightly giving me a sad smile. She releases my hand and we sit near each other, not quite touching but close enough to make it feel like electricity is running through my body at her closeness.

I sigh and lie back on my bed, I'm tired now but I don't want Clove to leave. I stifle a yawn and she smirks at me. "Tired?" She asks teasingly.

"A bit yeah." I admit grinning at her.

"I'll leave then." She gets up but my hand shoots out and grabs her arm. Her eyes go wide and she stares at my hand as if it's the strangest thing she's ever seen, she then looks at me her eyes wide.

"Please don't...I mean, you can sleep here, you know, if you want to…" I release her arm embarrassed. She stares at her arm where I touched it.

"I have to go." She says quickly before rushing out. I sigh and bury my face in my hands. Why did I have to do that? Now she probably thinks I'm a freak. I groan and turn over. I don't know why I care so much. I pull the covers over my head and try to sleep.

Eventually sleep comes and I'm thankful that it is dreamless.

_Clove POV:_

What was that? Normally if someone grabs me like that I'm attacking them in a heartbeat. But when she, when Katniss, touched me my stomach did a backflip and my heart sped up. I glance down at the place where she grabbed me. It's still tingling, I place my hand where hers was moments ago.

I lie down in my bed, I can't stop thinking about her. She's so beautiful. I put my hand where hers was again. I find that I like her touch. It's not like everyone else's it's firm and yet so gentle. I sigh and turn over.

What is wrong with me? I have to concentrate on the Hunger games not some girl. I scowl when my mind tells me that she's not just some girl. I close my eyes and fall asleep.

I'm in the arena, it's an icy waste land. Briefly I remember that this is like the arena they had a few years ago. "Clove." A voice behind me sings. I turn and see beautiful brown eyes. Katniss is smiling at me. Her hair is back in a braid and she's holding a bow.

As the wind blows her braid to the side I can't help but stare. Snow blows around her making her look even more beautiful. I can't breathe. She has literally taken my breath away. I walk towards her. I realise I'm holding a knife.

As we approach each other my father, Cato and my mentor appears out of nowhere they are wielding swords and they charge at Katniss. "No!" I shout and I'm throwing knives at them. I hit them, the blows should of killed them but instead their blood just drips onto the snow. Cato has Katniss in his grasp, he presses a sword by her throat. She stares at me with pleading eyes.

My father grabs me and places his sword by my throat, all I can think of is how I have to save Katniss. My mentor points to Cato and starts informing him of the best ways to kill. "No!" I scream again and struggle against my father's hold. Suddenly he disappears and so does my mentor it's just me charging at Cato holding Katniss.

I have a knife and I throw it at Cato's head, I never miss. Except, this time I do, it hits Katniss in the chest and Cato releases her. Giving me a grin he backs away disappearing into the snow. I rush towards Katniss and kneel down beside her.

"Clove…." She murmurs. Her beautiful brown eyes stare at me.

"Katniss….no." I whisper leaning down and brush my lips against hers. She's bleeding all over me but I don't care. Slowly I kiss her, when I pull away her eyes are lifeless, staring at me. I feel a sharp pain in my abdomen and look down to see she has used her last moment to stab me with an arrow.

I gasp and pull the arrow out looking back to her lifeless eyes I realise that they are not lifeless, they are now cold and full of loathing. "Clove, get up…"She says, but it's Cato's voice.

"Get up, come on, get the hell up."

I open my eyes to find Cato on top of me. Angrily I push him off and punch him in the stomach. He just smirks at me. "Come on Clove, you know you like me really." He grins, I spit in his face to show to amount of contempt I have for him.

He stands up and I glare at him. "What do you want Cato?" I snarl.

"I came to tell you to get up, it's nearly time for breakfast." I nod slowly but continue to glare at him.

"Get out." I point to the door. I need to think. He grins and leaves me. Once he's left I lock the door. I don't want to be disturbed. As I turn I wince and place a hand on my stomach. Lifting my shirt I see a bruise there. I remember my father punching me. I sigh Cato must have knocked it when he was trying to wake me.

Slowly, I get changed. I'm thinking about my dream. Did I really just dream that I kissed Katniss? I shake my head. The thought of her dying scares me more the thought of my own death. I sigh, I was probably screwed now. I wonder if my feelings for this girl will lessen, but somehow I know they won't.

That was it, I was in love with Katniss Everdeen. I place my palm on my forehead in irritation. Why now? Why her? I groan before blanking my face and leaving the room to go to breakfast.


	4. Chapter 4

_Katniss POV:_

I slowly eat my breakfast. Peeta's staring at me from across the table. I glance up at him and he smiles. I look away angrily and concentrate on my food. Haymitch walks into the room. He sits down with some kind of alcoholic beverage in his hand. Peeta starts talking. He's asking him how to survive in the games.

Haymitch surveys him. "Let me wake up!" He snaps rubbing his eyes. I know what will happen if we do that. He'll be out of his head drunk by midday. So I join in with Peeta. Asking him for advice on how to survive.

He turns on me. "Here's some advice sweetheart, don't die." I scowl and before I cat think stab the table with the knife, right by his hand. He looks at me and smiles.

"You want to know how to survive? Get people to like you." He says mockingly, I storm off, I don't know why I'm so angry. I can't think straight. I sit on my bed and curl up into a ball. I feel empty inside, I realise that I'm wishing Clove would come through that door. I sigh, she thinks I'm a freak now, and she'll be trying to kill me in a few days. Why do I want to be with her anyway?

I close my eyes and run my hands against my arms. I want to cut. I roll up my sleeves and stare at the marred flesh. I need to cut. Cautiously I leave the room, Haymitch and Peeta are still having breakfast. I can see what I want, the knife that's still imbedded in the table. I stare at it wishing I could just will it to me.

Sighing I enter the room and sit back down. "Well look who's come back." Haymitch says. I just glance at him pulling the knife out of the table and placing it next to my plate.

"So, Katniss… can you hit anything beside the table with that knife?" He asks, I shrug, he sighs and leaves the room taking his alcohol with him. While Peeta is watching him go I stash the knife in my pocket. Peeta looks back at me and I scowl before leaving the room with a bit of toast in my mouth.

Once I'm back in my room I finish the toast and pull out the knife. I touch the blade. It's sharp but not as sharp as I'm used to. It will have to do though. I pull up my sleeve and lower it onto my arm.

Oh god yes, relief, sweet relief. For the moment nothing matters. It doesn't matter that I'm probably going to die, that my mentor is an alcoholic, that I'm not sure if my mother will care for Prim and that I'm having strange feelings toward the district 2 girl. I sigh happily and lie back watching dispassionately as the blood runs down my arm.

I wonder if it will feel this good to die. I place the blade on the visible vein on my wrist and contemplate what would happen if I just pressed down as hard as I could…No if I die before the games they'd probably send Prim. I can't have that. I pull the knife away and enter the bathroom that is attached to my room. Using the running water I wash away the blood and pull my sleeve back down. I settle back down on my bed as the stinging sets in and stare at the door.

I startle when I hear a tentative knock. I get up and open the door. To my surprise Clove is standing there. She smiles at me but I can't bring myself to smile back, her smile falters and her friendly expression is replaced with a sneer. I glance behind her to see Effie looking between us anxiously.

Effie smiles at me although it does not conceal the anxiety in her eyes. "Clove here wanted to visit you. Isn't that nice?" She beams, placing a hand on Clove's shoulder who angrily shrugs it off. Clove is glaring at Effie now. "I'll just leave you two alone…" She wanders off and I motion for Clove to enter my room.

She unsurely enters and I sit down on my bed. She sits next to me. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry, about last night, I was kind of….abrupt…" She looks anywhere but my eyes but I feel her eyes stop on my sleeve. I glace down and see that one of my cuts hadn't quite finished bleeding and a few spots of blood are bleeding through.

Clove reaches for my arm put I pull away not wanting her to see what I've done to myself. She'll just think I'm crazy. "What was that?" She asks, her eyes going to mine, I look into her green eyes, I'm not sure what I see there. I shrug.

"Nothing." I tell her, a little too quickly. She purses her lip and grabs my arm, I yelp quietly as her fingers brush the fresh cuts. She pulls up my sleeve and stares for a long time. I have closed my eyes. Why did this have to happen? The odds are never in my favour.

I feel her gently grab my other arm and pull the sleeve up to see it just a scarred but with no fresh cuts, I like to alternate, when one arm gets too cut up I start on the other to give my arms a chance to heal.

"Katniss…." She whispers, I'm not sure what she means by that. I open my eyes to see her staring at me. I'm not sure but I think I see concern in her eyes. She gets up and enters my bathroom, returning with a roll of toilet paper. She rips some off and gently presses it to my still bleeding cut. I don't look at her.

Her gentle touch feels good, all I want to do is lean into her. For the first time in years I'm fighting back tears. Once the cut has stopped bleeding Clove speaks. "It's ok you know," I don't move, "I'm not going to tell anyone."

I'm relieved, I can't imagine what the Capitol would think of this. I suddenly feel exhausted all this emotional turmoil has taken its toll after all these years, ever since my father died the pain has been increasing, so I built up walls to conceal it from the outside world, I couldn't let people it as they might have taken advantage of my weakness and all it takes for those walls to crumble is this girl, this beautiful girl from District 2.

I'm crying now, I haven't cried in years but now I am. "Hey, it's ok.." Clove says and before I know it I've thrown my arms around her, desperately needing some kind of comfort. She tenses, I wonder if this was a bad idea and I'm about to pull away when she wraps her arms around me. "It's ok…" She says again.

I'm sobbing, I can't stop crying, I just bury my face in her shoulder. She starts patting me on the back unsurely and I grip her tighter. I don't want this to end. If I could just forget about the Hunger Games, forget about everything to have this moment last forever.

I know it can't though; I take a deep breath breathing in her scent. I want to remember this. I squeeze my eyes shut and pull away. Clove lets me and I glance up at her. She smiles slightly and I look away.

"Sorry about that." I whisper. Clove shakes her head.

"Don't be." I wipe my eyes and turn away from her, pulling down my sleeves. A knock sounds at the door and Effie enters.

"We'll be arriving at the Capitol soon, er… Clove perhaps you should return to your own carriage…" Effie trails off at Clove's glare. Effie backs out of the carriage and Clove turns back to me.

"Are you going to be ok?" She asks me. I nod and Clove places a hand on my cheek. I love the feel of her hands on my skin and I lean into it. She withdraws her hand and backs away a couple of steps. "I better go back before my mentor gets angry…I guess I'll see you soon."

"Yeah." I reply, she smiles at me, I see something in her eyes I don't recognise, but it makes my heart skip a beat none the less. I manage to smile back and she leaves. Slowly I get up and get changed not wanting the Capitol to see the blood stained top I'm wearing. I wash my face and when I look in the mirror I think I've done an alright job of making myself look presentable. I go to the communal room to wait with Peeta for the train to pull into the Capitol.


	5. Chapter 5

Clove POV:

As I walk towards my carriage I shoot a glare at anyone I see. I watch coldly as they scuttle out of my way. Once I get to my room I can allow my mask to fade.

Cato is standing in front of the door, I glare at him and he grins. "Clove I need to talk to you." He says, opening his arms.

"What is it Cato?" I ask irritably, I really need to be alone right now, to think about Katniss and what I just saw.

"Are you, like me, from District 2?" He asks, I raise an eyebrow and nod.

"What kind of dumb question is that pretty boy?" I ask sarcastically.

"And are you a tribute like myself?" He scowls, he's annoyed with me. I smirk at him and nod. "Then why the fuck are you running off every 5 minutes?" He roars, his fists clenched. "Listen Clove. We are from District 2, we are careers and because of that we must look like a united force."

I just stare at him, I know what I'm supposed to do, I'm a career, I've got to ally myself with Cato and the District 1 goons. We sit around killing people then turn on each other. That's what the Capitol wanted to see.

"When we get to the Capitol they'll be no more running off. You stay by me and I'll stay by you." A sly grin slides across his face and he saunters closer to me, "And maybe we could…." He reaches to touch me but I grab his wrist and push past him without saying a word.

Locking the door behind me I sit down on the bed. I hate Cato, I can't wait to put a knife through his throat, he's always coming on to me. Rumour has it he's slept with every girl in the Training Centre. I shudder, he won't get his way with me that's for sure.

My mind turns to Katniss, it broke my heart to see her so upset, I wondered how she could do those things to herself. Of course it wasn't the first time I'd heard of people doing this.

I frowned as I tried to remember what I'd heard about it. People sometimes hurt themselves to deal with emotional pain. I thought for a moment but couldn't remember anything else.

When Katniss had thrown her arms around me I'd frozen. I hated it when people touched me, but for some reason Katniss was different. When I felt her start to pull away I put my arms around her. I'd wanted to make her feel better.

I shake my head to clear it and start to make myself presentable for the people of the Capitol. After all I have to get them to like me, I may not find that as easy as Etta would've done but I'd do my best, besides I can defiantly fight better than Etta.

I exit my room and walk to the communal room, Cato was sitting in a corner and he sends a smirk my way when he notices my presence. I wander over to my mentor, Oriel, I think her name is. She greets me and I sit down next to her.

"Alright Clove, remember to smile and wave, not smirking, smile," Oriel tries to prime me for meeting the Capitol citizens but it isn't much good. Just as we are approaching the capitol I hear her mutter, "I just hope we've got good stylists this year."

The train starts to slow as we enter the station I look out of the window and see a huge crowd of brightly dressed people. They're smiling and waving, I force my lips into a smile and wave at them. I have to get these people to like me, not something I'm particularly good at, but I have to, for they are all potential sponsors in the games.

Cato stands next to me and puts his arm round my shoulder, he's grinning and saluting the Capitol citizens. I tense, I have to resist the urge to push him away. I've got to look like I want him as my ally. Once we back away from the window I push him off and shoot him a glare. Just so he knows I don't appreciate the contact.

Once the train has stopped we are taken to a building where we meet our stylists. I'm lying naked on a table, 3 women work to strip my body of hair. I wince as the woman waxes my legs. We have little reason to shave out legs in the districts.

I hate that these women are touching me, I glare at them and this soon stops their incessant chattering but it seems to make them more rough. Great, I've already got these people to dislike me. I sigh. I wish they'd stop touching me and I could put some clothes on. This position is just a little bit too vulnerable for me.

They tell me to turn over and I reluctantly obey . I feel their eyes staring at my scarred back, surely it's obvious what caused those scars. I shut my eyes and try not to think about how they must be exchanging mocking grins and savouring the gossip that they'll be spreading after the demise they hope I'll come by.

I wonder what Katniss is feeling like right now. Surely she'd in the same position as me, so that means her stylists will have seen her arms. I wonder what the Capitol will make of that. I clench my jaw, they better not be making her feel bad about it, I scowl hating myself for caring so much.

The stylists finish and leave me to wait for the head stylist who will be dressing me in whatever monstrous costume they see fit. I gulp, I seriously hope it's not too revealing. I lean against the wall trying to cover as much of myself as possible, I supposes any clothes will be better than no clothes.

_Katniss POV:_

I'm led to a table and told to strip off. I freeze, Haymitch has told me to do everything they say but I didn't expect this. I suppose I should've done, I look down. I don't want them to see what I've done to myself for years "Come on now, we need to make you look presentable for Cinna." One of them says as she pushes me towards the table.

Slowly I comply, stripping off the simple clothes I'm wearing and I lie down on the table. "Oh dear what's all this?" One of the women around me squeaks as she lifts my arm to examine it. Another woman grins.

"Got into a scrap with another tribute did you?"

"No, are you insane?" The third woman playfully smacks the other one. "It's obviously something the Districts do, perhaps it's a fad in District 12. They probably think it looks good." She nods and I glance between them as they start ripping the hair from my body, I clench my teeth against the pain.

I can't believe these Capitol people are so oblivious to what the marks on my arm mean. I don't mind though, if all the Capitol people are like this then I won't have to worry about it as much. Although I'll still have to hide it. People of the districts will know. Clove knew.

I can't help the smile that forms on my face as I think of Clove. When she held me, it was the most amazing moment of my life. I'd never felt this way about anyone before. I wanted to be with her right now. I shook my head to clear it. I mustn't think about her like this. She'll be trying to kill me in the arena just like every other tribute and yet, somehow I didn't believe she would be.

Once I had been stripped of all my body hair I'm left alone in the room to await my stylist. Cinna, I think they called him. Eventually a tall, dark skinned man walks in. He has gold eyeliner and a completely calm expression on his face.

"Katniss Everdeen." He says as he approached me. "What you did was the bravest thing I've ever seen." He smiles at me but sighs when I give him no response.

"How despicable I must seem to you." He says shaking his head. I say nothing, it's true he is despicable to me, and so is everyone in the Capitol. These games are despicable and the way they celebrate it like a holiday makes me sick.

He circles me taking in everything about my, body, I shift uncomfortable. Gently he picks up my arm and examines it. His eyes meet mine and he smiles sadly. Somehow I feel he knows exactly what those marks are. He releases my arm.

"The costumes tributes wear are always based off their district. District 12 is the coal mining district."

"So I'll be dressed as a miner then?" I ask, District 12 usually were dressed in baggy unbecoming miners clothes or sometimes incredibly revealing clothing with a miners hat. One year they were naked and covered in black dust to represent the coal. I hope my arms won't be on show whatever costume this Cinna man decided to put on me.

"Hmm no, I think that miners thing is a bit overdone don't you? Instead I'm going to be focussing on the coal," he tells me, placing a hand on his chin. I gulp, I was probably going to end up naked, wonderful, Cinna leans towards me, "and what does coal so? It burns."

Cinna is a madman I decide as I stand in a chariot led by two coal black horses. I'm standing next to Peeta who looks just a terrified as I am, I'm dressed in a shiny black outfit that covers me from my neck down. I have a cape on that Cinna has informed me he plans on setting on fire.

"So what do you think of this fire thing?" I ask Peeta who looks at me. He's wearing pretty much the same outfit as I am and he shakes his head.

"I'll rip off your cape if you rip off mine." He replies. I give him a weak smile and turn to the front. I feel like I'm going to be sick. I glance around at the other tributes to see if any of them have a stylist as crazy as mine.

A broad shouldered boy with blond hair steps outside dressed in a gladiator costume. He must be from District 2 I realise as this is the usual theme for that district. Clove follows him out and my mouth drops open slightly.

She's scowling at the woman that I presume is her stylist. She folds her arms and looks around. The costume she's wearing is a little revealing but only her arms and most of her legs are on show but the way the outfit clings to her body showing off her figure makes my heart increase in speed.

I swallow hard and look away, was I just checking out Clove? I shake my head and try to still my frantically beating heart. I look back over at her to find her watching me. When we make eye contact she gives me a small smile and my stomach flips over a few times before I'm able to return her smile.

Her smile widens in amusement and I realise I'm giving her a goofy grin. I look down in embarrassment and when I glance up she's moved on. Although I notice her give me side long glances every now and then.

Haymitch is semi sober for once, he strolls over and whisper s sarcastically in my ear. "Stay away from District 2 sweetheart, they're bad news." With that he turns to Effie who is excitedly talking to Cinna about the plans to set us on fire.

He snorts and takes a swig from a flask he always carries around with him which I assume it contains some sort of alcohol, before wandering off. Watch him go, he was right I should stay away from Clove, she's a Career, Careers didn't associate with District 12. I look down. But Clove was different and for some reason the thought of staying away from her made my heart ache.

I sigh, I couldn't stay away from her, I just wasn't sure why. Peeta gave me a glance at my sigh. "What did Haymitch say to you?" He asks, I shrug not wanting to tell him about Clove, although our friendship wasn't much of a secret on the train. "Is it about that girl from 2?" He guesses easily, slowly I nod and he smiles sadly at me. "I wouldn't trust her if I were you, she's probably trying to find out your weaknesses, Careers can't be trusted."

I scowl at him and his smile falters, he looks worried and he turns away. A wave of shame comes over me. I didn't mean to upset him, I just didn't want him to say anything else about Clove. I really like Clove, I've known her such a short period of time and yet I like her more than anyone else I'd met, besides my sister that is.

It's because she held me when I cried, it's because she said she wouldn't tell anyone that I self harm I tell myself. But even as I'm doing this I glance over at her and can't help the feelings that she seems to inspire in me. I think it may be more than that, I just don't know what.

The chariots start to pull away. District 1 leaves first then 2, I watch Clove until she's out of sight and can't help feel a pang of loss when I can no longer see her.

We're about to pull off, I take a deep breath to steady my nerves as Cinna approaches me with a flame. "Don't worry, it's synthetic fire, it won't burn you," He smiles, "but no one else needs to know that."

With that he's set our cape son fire, I hold my breath waiting for the unbearable heat as the flames lick my body. I release it when I feel nothing, I look down, I'm on fire! I'm on fire but I feel nothing! I grin as the horses pull the chariot forwards.


	6. Chapter 6

_Clove POV:_

The crowd cheers as Cato and I come into view. They throw roses at us and try to catch our eye. I smile and wave like Oriel told me to, trying to look likable. I notice the crowd is cheering Cato's name. Only occasionally do I hear my own name being called.

I strain to keep the plastic smile on my face, they don't like me, why don't they like me? This isn't good. I need these people to like me so I can get sponsors. I'm not stupid; I know a good sponsor can be the difference between life and death.

Suddenly the crowd goes quiet before erupting into a louder cheer. I hear them start calling different names. "Katniss! Peeta!" Roses are being thrown far behind me. I glance at the giant TV screens and gasp at what I see.

Katniss, standing next to the male tribute from 12. They are on fire. Katniss somehow looks even more beautiful. The flames light up her face. I had thought that her costume made her look stunning but I had never imagined her stylist would do this.

Momentarily I worry about the fire, she's on fire, what if the flames burn her? But I supposed she wouldn't be smiling that perfect smile if she was in any pain. I see Cato glaring at the screen angrily before turning and trying to recapture the attention of the Capitol.

I almost laugh, I'm not sure why I should be so glad that Katniss is liked here but I am. She'll get plenty of sponsors, maybe enough to survive the games and win. I frown, wondering just when I'd decided I wanted her to win. Her winning would mean my death. I shake my head and put the smile back on my face to try to please the Capitol.

I want Katniss to win, I realise, I've never felt this way about anyone before and I want her to return home. Her family needs her, she'd told me enough about her home for me to gather that and what did I have back home? Nothing. I decide then and there to do what it takes to keep her alive, to let her return home.

We pull up in underneath a balcony, President Snow who has been watching the proceedings from a chair on the balcony stands u p and approaches the edge. He looks down at the tributes lined up before him and gives some speech about the Hunger Games. I'm not listening though. I'm too busy staring at Katniss. She catches my eye and smiles shyly, I smile back and pretend to listen to the president's speech.

Cato is angry, He sticks his jaw out and fixes Katniss and the boy from 12 with a glare. I set my mouth in a straight line and glower at him. If he tries anything to hurt her I'll rip his throat out! I don't care if we're not supposed to fight before the arena or if we're supposed to be allies, I will kill him if he tries to hurt Katniss.

Our mentors lead us to the lift and we are told we are staying on floor 2. I tell them I'll catch them up and they tell me not to leave the building before going up in the lift. I see Cato glaring at me as the doors close. He dislikes leaving me alone, wanting to show everyone how 'allied' we are.

I look around the Lobby, I see Peacekeepers at the doors, I snort wondering why I was even told not to leave. It's not like the peacekeeper would let me. Cautiously I wander over to where the district 12 mentor is speaking to Katniss and the male tribute.

The capitol woman, i Effie I think I heard Katniss call her, spots me first and watches me warily. Katniss follows her gaze and sees me. Once her mentor has stopped talking she approaches me.

"Hey…" She says unsurely, I look over her shoulder to see her mentor glaring at us with slightly unfocussed eyes. He's drunk again I realise although not entirely oblivious to his surroundings. I turn back to Katniss.

"Hey, nice costume." I blurt out. Katniss blushes and she smiles sheepishly.

"Thanks, er… I like yours to." She says quickly, looking me up and down, her blush increases and she shifts uneasily from foot to foot. Her blush sends a spark of hope in me. Could she…? No, that wouldn't be good, I was going to die in the arena, it would be better if she didn't care for me.

Looking into her beautiful brown eyes I find myself unable to look away. I want her to feel the same way about me I realise, the thought of her not caring at all is too painful to bear. "So... do you want to meet me on the roof tonight? I ask, I know the lift will take us there having seen a roof button in the lift. She nods and my heart soars in elation.

"After dinner?" She asks and I agree happily and drift over to the lift after waving goodbye. I can't wait to see her again. I'm unable to keep the huge grin off my face as the lift door closes and takes me up to my floor.

_Katniss POV:_

As I walk back over to where Haymitch, Peeta and Effie are I can't help but grin. I'm going to see Clove again soon. I notice Haymitch's hard stare and my grin falters. I look down and refuse to look at him.

We take the lift up to the 12th floor. Effie shows us to our rooms and tells us to get ready for dinner. I sigh as I sit down on my bed. Haymitch isn't going to like my continued association with Clove, I can tell I've annoyed him by going to talk to her earlier.

I decide to change out of my costume, I look in the wardrobe and find some clothing to my liking, A plain long sleeved top that clings to my figure without showing off how skinny I am and some simple trousers. Looking at myself in the mirror I wonder if Clove will like this outfit.

I shake my head. Why should I care what Clove thinks of what I wear. I think back to her complimenting my costume and blush. I'm not sure why but her words gave me butterflies and made me giddy with happiness.

I leave the room and see that everyone's already seated at the table. I settle myself down next to Peeta and start to help myself to the rich Capitol food around me. Everything is delicious but I'm soon full.

"You look nice." Peeta says smiling at me, I glance at him trying to figure out if he's being truthful or sarcastic.

"Thanks." I say deciding he wasn't being sarcastic. I glance over to Haymitch who's completely drunk already, Effie is trying to get him out of his stupor. I sigh and get up. "I'm finished; I guess I'll see you later." I say and leave the apartment, taking advantage of Effie being distracted. Peeta doesn't ask me where I'm going and I'm glad of that, I'm not sure what he'll think about my continued friendship with Clove.

I get in the lift and go up one floor to the roof. I walk out into the fresh air and look around at the garden surrounding me. I wander over to the edge, I can see for miles around the Capitol from here. As I look down at the street far below I wonder what would happen if I jumped.

I could end it right now, why suffer in the arena if I could just die here. I climb up onto the edge but before I jump remember Prim. If I die before the arena they'll probably send her. I can't do that to her.

"What are you doing?!" I hear a terrified voice behind me. Before I know it I'm being dragged from the edge and I'm in the arms of none other than Clove. She's holding me tightly as if afraid what I'll do if she lets go.

I sit there for a moment before realising we're on the floor, my head is leaning against Clove's chest and I can hear her heart which is beating rapidly. I'm not sure how we got into this position but when I look up I see worried green eyes looking down at me, I find myself unable to look away, I examine her face, wanting to count all her freckles and run my hands through her dark hair.

I try to pull away but she refuses to let go. I didn't realise she was this strong. "What were you doing?" She asks me. I shrug unsurely, half of me wants her to let go but the other half just wants to stay like this forever.

"Just thinking." I tell her, she stares into my eyes as if trying to detect something before releasing me.

"About what?" She asks and all I can do is shrug. I reach for a flower and absentmindedly pick it, twirling the white bloom between my fingers. She sighs and I stand up, I move towards the edge wanting to sit on it but I find her arms grabbing me once again.

I look into her eyes, they're wide and full of fear. I shake my head and pull out of her grip. "It's ok, I won't do it, I was just….thinking." I finish trailing off, I sit down on the edge facing inwards. Her eyes soften and she moves to sit next to me.

"Want to talk about it?" She asks and I shake my head, keeping my eyes on the white flower in my hand. She puts her arm around me and I lean into her automatically, closing my eyes I inhale her scent. She plays with my hair and I relax into her.

Eventually I release the flower and it drifts over the edge. I pull away from Clove when I see the spark and the flower shoots back up onto the roof. I look at Clove and she shrugs. "Force field, I guess they thought of everything."

I turn away from her. I wasn't going to jump but now knowing that I couldn't even if I wanted to makes me feel even more trapped than before. I can feel her watching me and I stand up. "I have to go." I say.

Thinking about how trapped I am, how no matter what I'll be thrown into that god forsaken arena. The place where I'll probably die. How I don't know for sure if after my death Prim will be alright. It's worse than being home in District 12. At least there I could get out, I could escape to the woods and hunt. Have a few hours of being away from everything.

Clove watches me leave, I don't look back not wanting her to see my face. I enter the lift and press the button for the 12th floor. Once there, I enter the apartment. Luckily no one is awake and I am able to enter my room undetected. I get ready for bed and lie down on the soft mattress. When sleep finally comes it's interrupted by nonsensical dreams of the Hunger Games, of the Capitol murdering my sister and strangely enough, of the beautiful girl that I left on the roof.


	7. Chapter 7

_Clove POV: _

I watch her leave, I wonder what's upset her so much. I glance over to edge. Did she really want to kill herself that much? I clench my teeth. If she is so set on dying keeping her alive would be harder than I thought.

I stare at the lift worriedly, I couldn't let her die, I just couldn't. I run a hand through my hair. If she dies I die, I decide. A life without ever seeing her again would be no life at all. Slowly I stride over the lift and take it back down to my floor.

As I lie in bed I contemplate what to do about Katniss. I will have to keep an eye on her I decide, to make sure she doesn't kill herself. I think about the train ride that brought us here. Was it really just this morning that I'd held her in my arms as she cried?

I turn over, bunching up my covers and hugging them. Closing my eyes and pretend that I'm holding Katniss. I don't want her to hurt herself, I wonder how much pain she's been keeping inside to need to do those things to herself. I hold the covers tighter and allow myself to drift off to sleep.

I'm cold, I shiver and open my eyes. I'm in the middle of a blizzard, I squint trying to distinguish any shapes in the heavy snow. I unsurely step forwards, hoping to find shelter somewhere. After a while of walking the snow clears and I look around, I seem to be in the eye of the storm.

From the opposite side of the eye Katniss steps out. I run towards her but before I can reach her she collapses. I see blood dripping from her wrists and she looks up at me with unfocussed eyes. I hear the dark chuckle of my father and I glance around but see no one.

The chuckling continues, I look out into the blizzard the sound seems to be surrounding me. Some of the snow blows towards me and as it nears me it solidifies into a human shape. My father stands there smirking at me. The green eyes that I inherited from him looking at me in mirth, He holds up a brown belt that I recognise instantly. I back away towards Katniss hoping to protect her.

His hand shoots forward and grabs my neck, throwing me to the side easily. I fall to the ground and struggle to stand up. I look up and see my father raise his belt over the shivering form of Katniss. He pulls his arm down hard, whipping Katniss on the back, She flinches and collapses into the snow.

"No!" I scream, I charge at the man I hate the most but in a second he has me on the ground again. He's whipping my back like he's done many times before. I flinch at each hit not making a sound as my back sears with familiar pain.

I look up at Katniss from my position on the ground, she's standing now and shaking her head. "What a weakling." She says coldly, my heart drops, she thinks I'm weak, no I'm not… I not… I….I must be strong….for her. Shakily I stand up wincing as my father continues whipping.

"Katniss…" I start to say, trying to reach out to her, she shakes her head and pulls a bow out of the snow. Before I know it an arrow is pointing towards me. The whipping stops and I glance behind me, Cato is standing there with lust in his eyes. When I look back to Katniss she's gone.

Cato pushes me to the ground. He's lying on top of me and I can't move, I feel a bulge in his pants. Oh god no... I struggle to get him off but he refuses to budge, no... I cannot allow this to happen. As I struggle Cato just grins at me even more, He leans down and whispers in my ear, "You know you want this."

I shake my head, I don't want this, I can't move. I struggle frantically but cannot free myself from Cato's grip. I feel tears trickle down my cheeks. So this is how it's going to end? I can't stop myself as I choke out a sob.

I open my eyes, the room is dark, I'm tangled in my covers and carefully I pull them off. Sitting up I remember the dream, just a dream nothing more. I bury my face in my hands and cry. It had all felt so real. My father… and Cato… I shake my head, clenching my teeth to try to silence the sobs that wrack through my body.

"Katniss…" I whisper, seeing her covered in her own blood, my father hitting her the same way he'd hit me for years had felt like a knife through my heart. I shiver when I think of that arrow pointed at me. How she'd called me weak.

Perhaps she's right, perhaps I am weak. I scrunch my eyes shut. I had to be strong, for her. No more crying over a stupid dream. I had to be the Clove that my district knew in the arena the angry, violent Clove that would kill anyone as soon as look at them.

I glance at the alarm clock on the bedside table, it reads 5:45. I grunt and lie back down. I have a couple of hours before it will be acceptable to get up. I know I won't be able to go back to sleep, angrily I pull myself out of bed. I get dressed into my training outfit knowing I'll be training for the majority of the day.

I sneak out of the apartment and enter the lift. I hit the roof button and the lift brings me up. Once I'm out in the fresh air I allow myself to relax slightly as I settle myself down on the ledge. Since I know there's a force field to stop me falling I dangle my legs over the side.

I look out over the Capitol. The city has a strange beauty about it with its tall buildings that reach towards the sky as if yearning to become part of it. I frown when I think of the people that live in those buildings. The Capitol citizens are strange. It's like they live in a different country from the district people.

I turn away from the city and sit facing the garden, my thoughts turn to Katniss and I can't help the warm fuzzy feeling that fills me. I smile slightly but it soon fades when I remember the situation we're in. I sigh; I wish she were her right now.

I just sit there for a couple of hours thinking before I return to my apartment for breakfast. Cato is already up and he glares at me when I enter. "Where were you?" He demands, I shrug.

"Went for a walk." I tell him as I sit at the table and load my plate with food, I start nibbling at the delicious food and hear Cato growl. I know I've annoyed him yet again but I don't care.

Training starts at 10 but Cato and I decide to go down early. I'm not that surprised to see that we are not the only ones with this idea, I see the district 1 tributes standing by the door and I follow Cato over to them, instinctively knowing that these are out allies. District 1 and 2 always teamed up, it was just how things were done.

We introduce ourselves to them and they tell us their names, Glimmer and Marvel. I resist the urge to snort when the girl tells me her name. I look her up and down, she looks like a rich snob. She holds her nose in the air as she looks at me as if I am beneath her. She then gives me a bitchy smile and holds out her hand. I take it keeping my face emotionless as we shake hands.

This girl reminds me a bit too much of Etta and somehow that makes me despise her. I turn my attention to the boy, Marvel, He looks around coolly, I notice him sizing Cato up, probably trying to notice any weaknesses. We may be allies but that doesn't mean we won't kill each other if we have to.

I glance around, other tributes are arriving. I survey them, sizing them up. Most look like they'll be easy enough to take down but a few have me worried. A large, broad shouldered male strides in with a small girl trailing behind him. The girl won't last long I decide but the male tribute, he may be a problem, he stares around coldly, his mouth set in a line. The way he holds himself shows confidence. He looks like he's strong. He catches me watching him and I look away.

I spot Katniss enter, she glances around at the other tributes before looking down. I want to go over to her, to talk to her but I know I should stay with the careers. I mustn't attract their attention to her if I can help it.

The doors open letting us in an hour early since we're all here. The training room has many stations for learning and practicing different skill that could be useful in the games. From weapons to survival skills. We're told that we are not allowed to fight each other and that if we want a sparring partner we are to ask the trainers dotted around the room. The trainers will also help us learn how to use various weapons and survival skills.

I immediately wander over to the ranged weapon station and grab some throwing knives. This is what I'm good at and this is my chance to prove my worth to my fellow careers as well as scare some of the other tributes off. I feel eyes on me as I throw the knives at the dummies in front of me.

I throw 10 knives in total each one hitting their mark. I smirk and glance around, Cato rolls his eyes and wanders over to the sword station picking up a heavy sword and swinging aggressively at the dummies decapitating it easily.

I glance at the District 1 tributes, the girl gives me a bitchy smile and wanders over picking up a bow, I clench my jaw in irritation, feeling a certain possessiveness over the ranged weapon station. She fires a total of 6 arrows before one hits its target.

She turns to me triumphantly as if what she had done was spectacular. I resist the urge to roll my eyes and instead simply press the button to change the dummies and bring the knives and arrows back. I raise an eyebrow at her and grab a knife chucking, I glance at my target then not taking my eyes off her lazily throw it to the target.

I walk away not looking back, I know the knife hit its target I smirk at Marvel who is watching me from the spear station. I glance around, wondering what to try next. I decide to practice lighting fires, you never know when that skill will be useful in the arena. The fact Katniss is at that station has nothing to do with my decision I tell myself as I wander over to her.

She glances up at me as I approach, The instructor starts to tell me the best way to make a fire and I follow his instructions. When the instructor is satisfied with my efforts he wanders off to see to the knot tying station where a young girl is struggling with the ropes.

"Nice throwing." Katniss murmurs to me once he's left. I glance up at her but don't hold eye contact. So she had been watching me with the knives, I suppress a grin.

"Thanks." I reply, and she nods toward Glimmer who is still trying to use the bow.

"She seems to think she's good with a bow, but she's not… she closes an eye when she aims, you shouldn't do that it throws your aim off." She tells me absentmindedly. I smirk at her, she'd told me before about the illegal poaching she'd done with a bow she hid out in the forest.

"How about you show her how it's done." I say jokily, smirking to myself. I'm not sure why I want her to stand up Glimmer in archery. It's best she doesn't draw attention to herself but I would love to see the look on that snobby bitches face to be stood up by a girl from District 12.

She shakes her head, "Haymitch said not to show my shooting." She says and I nod, her mentor may be drunk half the time but at least he gave good advice. She should stay as unnoticeable as possible. Katniss's fire springs up and she smiles in triumph. She carefully puts it out.

"I'll show you though, if you want…At Lunch, when no one' s around." She glances at me with a shy smile. I nod slightly and she leaves to another station leaving me to finish lighting this dammed fire.

Once I'm done I glance over to the spear section, Marvel seems to have moved on so I approach it. Might as well learn how to use some different weapons. I'd used a variety of weapons in the training centre back home of course, but I always concentrated mostly on the knives. The way knives felt in my hand just felt right. It was as if the knife had been invented just for me, that only I could use them to their full potential.

I decide to ask a trainer to spar and I select the largest man who's standing at the edge. He agrees and picks up a heavy sword. I smirk and select the spear I had been practising with. The man charges at me and I dive to the side, using the spear I trip him up. Once he's on the floor I point the tip of the spear to his throat and smirk at him. He nods and I back away allowing him to get up.

"Best two out of three?" I ask and he nods, he doesn't seem to be the talkative type. He charges at me again this time jumping over my spear. He swings his sword wildly knocking my spear away and I dive away as he waves his sword. I'm dodging his attacks now, I have no weapon and my spear is far away. I duck and grab his legs pulling them towards me causing him to fall and drop his sword.

Quickly I grab the sword and hold it above his neck the weapon is heavy but I can just about hold it. I'm panting now and he concedes defeat. I drop the sword on the floor and back away retrieve the spear. I may have won the 2 out of 3 rounds but I still want my 3 fights. He seems to agree as he raises his sword.

This time he stays put, waiting for me to make the first move. I narrow my eyes and charge, He knocks the spear away but I manage to hold on to it, He swings the sword at me and I twirl to avoid it. He brings the sword up and then down but I parry it with the spear. I need to get more space between us. I know the spear can reach longer than the sword, I jump back but he follows.

I roll on the floor trying to trip him up again but he jumps. Once I'm behind him I place the tip of the spear at the back of his neck. He grunts and throws the sword in the general direction of the weapons stand. I smirk as he wanders back over to his space.

I'm glad I was able to win the fights with the spear, I've shown that I am more than just a knife girl. I'm tired now and decide to relax with a bit of knife throwing. I glance over to the edible plants station where Katniss is to see her staring at me. I risk sending her a wink, she looks away abruptly and I think I spot a blush forming on her face.

I'm glad Glimmer has moved on from the ranged weapons station. I throw knife after knife until there are none left in the holder. I press the button and get the knives back. Just as I'm about to throw the first knife we are told that we may break for lunch.

The room empties quickly as people move to get their food. Cato wanders over to me. "You coming?" He asks and I shake my head remembering that Katniss had said she'd show me her archery skills. My heart skips a beat at the thought of being alone with her again.

Cato glares at me but shrugs, he wanders off with Glimmer and Marvel wanting food more than he wanted to stay by me. I smirk as they leave and glance around the room. The trainers have all left and I am alone in the room except for the girl with a braid who is staring at me from the climbing station. She looks around the room checking the coast is clear before wandering over to me.


	8. Chapter 8

_Katniss POV:_

I wander over to Clove, She watches me and smiles slightly as I approach. My heart rate increases and I hope I'm not blushing. It was embarrassing when she'd looked over to me and seen me watching her after her fight.

While I was watching her fight I couldn't help but stare at how she moved and how beautiful her face was when it was creased with concentration. The way she smirked at her adversary in a mocking way sent butterflies to my stomach. I wasn't sure why watching her made me feel this way and not knowing the reason worried me.

I'd noticed how Clove seemed to struggle with the spear during her fight, as if she wasn't quite as comfortable using it as she was with the knives. When she threw the knives she moved gracefully as if the knife and she were one. With the spear she had stumbled and there were moments when I thought she would lose the fight.

I had also noticed that the few survival stations she went to she struggled at, she wasn't very good at knot tying or fire making. I wonder if she has any hidden talents with the other survival stations.

"So, am I going to get to see your professed skills or are you just going to stare at me?" She smirks and I blush, realising I had been standing awkwardly in front of her for the past few minutes not saying anything.

Slowly I pick up the bow. It's lighter than I'm used to but I have no doubt it's stronger than my bow back home. I run my finger gently over it, enjoying the way it feels to have a bow in my hands again. I smile and glance over at Clove, she' staring at me with a raised eyebrow. Probably wondering what the hell I'm doing.

I reach for an arrow and place myself in the correct stance. I nock the arrow and take aim. I release the bowstring and the arrow flies into the air. It hits the target. I smile slightly and repeat my actions.

Just as I'm taking aim for the 6th time a knife hits the target. I turn my head to see Clove grinning at me as she throws another knife and presses a button that renews the dummies and brings the arrows and knives back.

I smile at her and we begin attacking the dummies. I can't help the huge goofy grin that forms on my face as I shoot as many arrows as I can. I don't miss and neither does she. I'm almost laughing by the time I've run out of arrows. I turn to Clove who throws her last knife.

She smirks at me. "Not bad." She remarks and I laugh.

"Not bad yourself." I say elbowing her gently the way I sometimes did with Gale when we were joking around. She scowls at me and my grin falters, she purses her lips and starts to walk away. I grab her arm and she turns on me coldly. I release her arm, she doesn't like to be touched I realise.

I think back the train when I'd grabbed her arm and asked her to stay, she's tensed up and the look in her eyes was similar to the look she was giving me now. I also remembered how she'd tensed up when I hugged her on the train, I'd thought she was just taken aback by my forwardness.

"I'm sorry." I say but she just glares at me. I bite my lip, I've upset her and I'm not sure how to fix it. Perhaps it's better this way, after all the Hunger Games isn't a place to make friends. She shakes her head and I stare at her trying to communicate how sorry I am with my eyes. I don't want to lose her.

She turns and leaves without saying a word, I feel a lump in my throat. I decide I might as well grab some lunch and wander to the lunch hall. I glance over at Clove who is sitting with the Careers, I watch as the two boys and the girl from 1 chat excitedly amongst themselves. Clove simply sits their looking down, playing with her food.

I grab myself some food and sit down net to Peeta. I pick at my food, I'm not really hungry. My thoughts are on Clove, I wish I hadn't done that. Now I've messed everything up. She probably hates me now, why had it taken me so long to figure out something so simple? Now it's too late.

"What's up?" Peeta asks and I glance at him, annoyed at him for interrupting my thought.

"Nothing." I say coldly. He pauses for a moment before speaking again.

"Really? Because you're gripping that fork so hard your knuckles have gone white." I glance down at my hand and find that what he said is true. I release my grip only now noticing how my muscles were screaming at me to release the metal. I stretch out my hand and my bones crack satisfyingly.

I start eating, I need to eat plenty of food before going into the arena where there's a possibility I may starve. "So what's up?" Peeta asks again. I glare at him, I don't want to talk to him. Haymitch has told use to act like friends but I don't really feel up to pretending to be his friend. I feel nothing towards him beside a small amount gratefulness that he saved my family years ago.

I finish the food I'm eating and return to the training room. I'm the first person to return despite being the last to leave. I glance over at the ranged weapons station and realise Neither Clove or I reset it. I wander over and stare at our handiwork. Sighing I press the button that will get rid of the evidence .

Haymitch would be really angry if he knew I'd shown off my talent. But I'd wanted to show Clove, I don't know why. When I'd seen her with the knives I'd wanted to join her I'd wanted her to see my skills to impress her. I'd been jealous when the girl from 1 approached her. That was my spot beside Clove and my weapon.

I grab a sword that's small enough for me to carry and angrily slash at a dummy. Of course I have no idea how to use the sword I just simply want to let off some steam. Perhaps I could ask the trainers to teach me when they return.

People start to wander back into the training room and I drift away from the swords when Cato strides over. He glares at me as I leave but I ignore him. I decide to practice some more survival skills.

I keep glancing over at Clove, she spends the afternoon viciously throwing knives at targets. She seems to be studiously ignoring me. I can see from the way she holds her jaw that she's angry, not just angry, I wince at the loud thwunk of her knives hitting its mark a little harder than usual, but livid. She's angry because of me, I turn away I don't want to think about this anymore.

I'm glad when we are dismissed. I leave with everyone else only glancing back to see Clove still viciously throwing knives. I go straight to my room and change out of my training clothes. Grabbing a bowl of Plum stew from the table I retreat to the roof, I don't want to have to talk to anyone.

Once there I sit on the edge and slowly eat my stew. It's the most delicious thing I've ever tasted but I find I can only eat half of the bowl. I bury my face in my hands, thinking of Clove. I hear the lift doors open and I glance up.

Clove steps out. Her face is blank as she strides over to the edge of the roof. She doesn't see me as I've sat further down the roof and I'm partially concealed by a bush of white flowers that leans over the ledge.

I watch the beautiful girl and to my dismay I see tears trickling down her cheeks. I want to go and comfort her. Cautiously I call out to her, "I really am sorry Clove." Her head jerks up and she turns in the direction of my voice.

She walks around the bush and tries to glare at me though her tears but fails miserably. "What are you doing here?" She asks, she's trying to make herself sound indifferent but I hear how her voice wobbles as she tries to control her tears.

I stand up and take a couple of steps towards her. I leave a step between us allowing her to choose whether or not the distance is closed. "Just thinking, why are you crying? Is it because of me? I'm sorry." I say. She shakes her head, it kills me to see those beautiful, intelligent eyes clouded with so much pain.

"I'm not crying!" She snaps and I stare at her as she looks down, screwing her eyes shut in an attempt to calm herself. Her outburst seems to have taken away the last of her restraint though and she's sobbing now.

I desperately want to pull her into my arms but I'm not sure how she would react to that. I'm afraid it will cause her to pull away and disappear down the lift. She shakes her head. "Ok, maybe I am?" She says between sobs. She looks up at me and I hold my arms out, offering a hug, letting her initiate the contact.

She cautiously steps forward and puts her arms around me. She buries her face in my shoulder and I encircle my arms around her. I'm not sure how long I hold her like this but eventually her sobs stop and she pulls away.

I sit down on the edge and she sits down next to me. "Clove, I'm sorry for upsetting you." She shakes her head.

"It's not you." She assures me. I look at her, she's staring out at the Capitol with a blank expression on her face.

"What is it then?" I ask,she shakes her head. "You can tell me you know, I won't tell anyone." She glances at me and sighs.

"I've just been doing a lot of thinking. " She tells me, I look up at the sky thoughtfully.

"About what?" She turns on me angrily.

"Stop trying to get in my head 12. You don't know me." She scowls and turns away examining the bush of white flowers beside her, stare at her.

"Maybe not," She glances at me with an unreadable expression and I wonder whether or not I should continue, "but….I'd like to." There I'd said it, I wanted to know Clove, I wanted to be with her and learn who she is.

"Fine Katniss, have it your way." The corners of her mouth twitch in amusement. I'm not sure what exactly it is she finds amusing but I'm glad for the sudden change in demeanour. She turns back towards me and looks at me questioningly.

"Well?" She says impatiently, folding her arms. "You say you want to know me and then ignore me, are you aware of how backwards that is?" She gives me a weak grin, she's trying to tease me, trying to lighten the mood but I can see in her eyes she's still upset about something.

"I'm not sure what to say…" I admit, shrugging my shoulders and she sighs.

"Just…ask me something, I might give you an answer." She rolls her eyes.

"oh..right..erm…" I think for a moment, "What's your favourite colour?" I ask lamely and this causes her to snort.

"Really? Of all the things to ask someone , you ask their favourite colour?" She smirks, "If you must know it's red, dark red to be specific." She grins at me.

"Oh…" I'm not sure how to respond to that. "What about…"

"Ah, ah ah," She cuts me off with a grin, holding up a finger to stop me. "my turn." She laughs at my bemused expression. "You didn't think I'd be giving you information about myself without gaining any about you did you?" I shrug and she continues. "So Katniss, who taught you to use a bow like that?"

"My father, before he died….he taught me most of what I know." I told her. Clove looks at me thoughtfully.

"It must've been nice to have a good relationship with him." She says speculatively. I nod and try to think of a question. I stare at her eyes, mesmerised by their beautiful colour.

"Who'd you inherit your eyes from?" I ask absentmindedly. She raises an eyebrow at me.

"Another strange question, my father. I never knew my mother but I'm told she was quite plain looking, dark hair, dark eyes excreta excreta, just like most people in my district." She looks at me hard as if trying to figure me out.

"Why'd you want to know that?" She asks eventually. I shrug and feel a blush creeping up my face and suddenly my hands become the most fascinating things I ever seen.

"I…err….They're pretty, that's all." I'm sure I'm as red as a tomato now but I hear a nervous laugh next to me. I look up at her to see smiling slightly and blushing profusely. I never thought I'd see Clove blush. She was surely much too good at controlling her emotions for that.

"Er… Thanks…" Clove says, she's smiling and her eyes are warm as they look at me. My stomach flips and I can't help but give her a goofy grin. I never grinned like this before I met her. I love the affect she has on me I admit to myself as I try to think of a question to ask her.

"Why don't you like being touched?" I ask without thinking, I know I've made a mistake when she tenses. Her eyebrows crease and she stares at a spot on the floor.

"Why'd you think I don't like to be touched?" She asks emotionlessly. I shrug, I'm in too deep now.

"Well, you just don't seem to like contact with people unless you initiated it…" I murmur, drifting off. I'm staring at the sky but meet her eyes when she turns to me.

"Is it that obvious?" She asks, I sense the worry in her voice and resist the urge to reach out to her. I didn't know if it would be obvious to anyone else. After all I did tend to watch her movements when she was in the same room and I was always analysing her reactions to me. I didn't even know why I did this but I suspected it was something to do with the way she made me feel.

"Not really..." I shrug and she looks into my eyes, searching for something. Finally she nods and looks away.

"You can't tell anyone." She says stiffly and I can do nothing but agree. She goes silent and stares at the patch of ground in front of her.

"You don't have to tell me... Maybe that was a bit personal, I'm sorry." I tell her haltingly. I did want to know but I didn't want to force her to tell me anything. She sighs and runs her hand through her hair.

"Alright Katniss. You're right it is personal but I'll answer if you answer mine." She gently reaches for my hand and pulls up my sleeve, I don't even try to pull away. Why would I? She's seen what I hide there, she touches the still healing cuts on my arm softly and looks up at me sadly. "Why did you do this?"


	9. Chapter 9

_Clove POV:_

Katniss pulls her arm out of my grasp. She looks me in the eye and I see her considering whether or not to tell me, I want her to tell me. I want to know why she feels the need to do such things to herself. But at the same time I'm not sure what I'll do with the information, I want to try to comfort her but what if there's nothing I can do?

She turns away and looks out over the city, I assume she's not going to answer my question so I join her in gazing out over the tall buildings. "It helps me…" I look at her surprised, she's now staring down at her hands, twiddling her thumbs as she contemplates how to continue.

"When my father died, my mother withdrew into herself. She just… Sat on the bed staring at nothing. I know she couldn't help it and I… I guess I would've done the same." She takes a shuddering breath and glances at me, I wait patiently for her to continue. "I had to support my family, I couldn't let my sister die, I had to be there for her. So one night when my mother and Prim were in bed and everything was getting too much for me to deal with, I picked up a knife and started cutting myself, only scratches at first but it as the years went by scratches just didn't do it anymore and I had to cut a little bit deeper."

She gulps and turns away slightly. "When it all gets too much, all the pain, the hopelessness, I don't want to withdraw like my mother did, it hurts so much inside and everything is always out of my control. Just a few cuts, that's all it takes to centre myself, to make the pain fade for another day, so I can keep going. It's the only thing I can control, the Capitol controls everything else." She looks at me, a single tear falls from her eye and I instinctively reach up and brush it away.

She takes another shuddering breath and closes her eyes, leaning in to my touch. I put my arm around her and she leans into me. We sit there like that for a while, I contemplate what she told me. What can I say? She's right that the Capitol controls everything, including our lives. And I have no idea how to take away to pain she feels.

I look down at her, feeling hopeless, I want to protect her, I want her to be ok, but there's nothing I can do. I rest my face on the top of her head and inhale deeply, savouring the closeness of her. "I wish there was something I could do." I tell her quietly, I feel her shake her head.

"There's nothing anyone can do," She sighs and snuggles a bit closer to me and I hear the slight smile in her voice when she continues. "But this helps, I don't feel so out of control and alone when I'm with you." I glance down at her, she can't see the grin on my face but I think she probably knows it's there. She likes being around me, that shouldn't make me feel so good.

"So... Are you going to answer my question?" Katniss asks quietly and I tense. I almost forgot about that. She pulls away and looks me in the eye questioningly. I stare out over the Capitol, setting my lips in a straight line. I had to tell her why I didn't like touch unless I initiated it.

We're silent for a few minutes and I sigh. I suppose we made a deal, I should tell her, I bite my lip, what if she thinks I'm weak once I've told her. I scowl out over the city and fold my hands in my lap. I contemplate how to phrase things and sigh angrily when nothing comes to mind.

"My mother died when I was born… " I begin, the words coming out harsher than I meant them to, I feel Katniss's eyes on me, I curl my fingers into fist in an attempt to calm myself. "My father blamed me for her death…" I wince, those words sounded pitiful to me, I glance at Katniss I expect to see a mocking smile on her face at my show of weakness.

Perhaps she won't think I'm weak, she didn't seem to when she'd seen me cry. I swallow, feeling slightly more confident. " He said it was my fault and called me a murderer. He decided from the age of 5 that I should be punished for my actions…." I scrunch my eyes shut, remembering just how he chose to punish me. When I open them I see Katniss staring at me with a look of understanding.

I turn away. "All my life whenever anyone touched me it was to cause me pain of some kind. I went to the Training Centre at the age of 9 and once I showed some skill with knives my father let up a bit but I'd often go to lessons covered in bruises and cuts."

"I only ever touched people during a fight, before I met you I had never shaken someone's hand. My district hates me for the most part, It wasn't even me who was supposed to volunteer for the games this year, It was that girl who got reaped. Etta. If I die in these games my district will give me no funeral and I will be thought of only as a disgrace to District 2." I'm not sure why told her that, I've answered the question she asked me, she didn't need to know any more.

"Can I hug you?" Katniss asks, I turn to her in surprise, she meets my gaze sincerely. I nod unsurely and she wraps her arms around me. I hug her back tightly, loving the feel of being in her arms. Katniss is the first person I've hugged and the first person who has hugged me. I never imagined that such a simple action could feel so comforting.

We pull away from each other and I stare into her brown eyes. My eyes drift over her face and linger on her lips, I want to kiss her. It would be so easy, just lean forwards and press my lips against hers. I pull myself back. Nothing good would come out of kissing Katniss Everdeen.

I smile slightly at Katniss. "For what it's worth I don't find your touch as much of everyone else's" I admit, I turn away and scowl, I'm sure why I'd felt the need to say that, Katniss turns to me, a playful grin forming across her face, I turn back to her and the warmth in her eyes almost takes my breath away.

"I'll take that as a compliment," She grins and then looks at me thoughtfully before cautiously holding out her arm, asking permission with her eyes. My mouth involuntarily twitches into a smile and I scoot closer to her, resting my head on her shoulder as she drapes her arm around my shoulder.

My stomach flutters when she starts stroking my hair and I sigh contentedly. I look up at the stars and contemplate what brought me to the roof. I'd been so worried that after my actions today she hated me, I'd been so angry at myself. I close my eyes, she didn't hate me and what's more I'd told her my biggest secret and she didn't seem to think I was weak because of it.

We sit like this for what seems like forever until I pull away. It's late and we need to be returning to our apartments to get some sleep. I stand up and indicate to the lift. She nods in understanding and follows me as I walk towards it.

_Katniss POV: _

Clove presses the button for the button for my floor followed by the button for hers. She leans against the side of the lift as it starts to move. We don't say anything as the lift stops at my floor and the doors open.

I look into her eyes and part of me wants to ask her to join me but I don't think she'd agree. She raises an eyebrow at my hesitation, questioning me with her eyes. "Er…Do you want to…Erm, stay with me tonight?" I ask, her lips twitch in amusement and she shakes her head.

"Cato would probably be pissed if I'm not in my room when he wakes up." She says sadly. I nod and back out of the life, I stare into her eyes until the doors have closed and for a while just stare at the closed doors, wishing they'd reopen just so I can see Clove for a few more minutes.

What's wrong with me? I wonder. I go to my room and lie down on the soft bed. I contemplate what she had told me up on the roof. I feel a lump in my throat and swallow. I turn over and bury my face in my pillow.

I wanted to be with her right now. I wanted to be with her every second of the day. I screw my eyes shut. Why did I feel this away about her? I stare at the ceiling and a thought creeps into my mind. Because I love her. I sit up abruptly.

What? Did I love her? I frown and fold my arms. Was that even possible? I sigh, I'd never felt this way about anyone before. I was in love with Clove. I groan angrily, why the hell did I have to choose now of all times to fall in love?

Soon we would both be thrown into an arena where we have to fight to the death and only one person can come out. The best I can hope for is that she'll be the last one standing as I know that there is no way I can live without her.

I shake my head angrily. I hate the Capitol, I hate the Capitol for doing this, for delighting in watching a bunch of kids kill each other. What sort of sick twisted people are they anyway? No one in the districts enjoys the Hunger Games, at least not in my district, we watch the games only because we are forced to.

I stare around the fancy room, I hate it for being so fancy, I hate that is this is the norm for the Capitol people. Angrily I rip the bed sheets off the bed and throw them into the corner. I ripping them to shreds as if by destroying them all the wrongs of these horrible games will be righted.

I punch the wall and collapse in a heap on the floor. I can't do this, I look down at my hand and flex my fingers causing them to ache slightly. I didn't punch the wall very hard, I'm glad of that, I need my hands.

I sit up, I want to cut. It's the only thing I know will help me control my emotions. I wonder where I can find something to hurt myself with. The training room, I wonder if it's open. I could steal a knife. I stand up and leave my room.

I'm about to exit the apartment when a hand lands on my shoulder. I spin round defensively to find Peeta staring at me. "Hey, are you ok? You look upset." I pull away and nod my head. "Where are you going?"

I shrug, not wanting to tell him I'm going to the training room to get a knife to cut myself with. He stares at me, "You know it's ok to be scared, I'm scared too…" He says looking away.

"I'm not scared." I lie, why can't he just go away? Peeta stares at me unsurely.

"I know that's not true." He smiles at me, and places his hands on my shoulders in an attempt to comfort me. "You can admit it to me you know." I just shake my head and pull away from him, I head back towards my room. I'm not going to be able to get hold of a knife tonight, I glance over at Peeta resentfully.

I don't have to admit anything to anyone, I'm annoyed when Peeta follows me. He sees my room and the state of the bed. I look down in embarrassment. "Why did you do this?" He asked in confusion as he picks up a piece of ripped bedding.

I shrug and sit down on the mattress. Peeta looks around at the destruction surrounding him in confusion before looking back to me. Great, now Peeta is going to think I'm crazy, just brilliant. I sigh angrily.

"You know we could ask a servant to bring you more bedding and then we can clear this up, Effie and Haymitch don't need to know about it." He says kindly and I glare at him.

"I don't need your help." I find myself snapping. I feel a bit guilty at his hurt expression. He's just being kind but I'm not in the mood to be civil. He nods slowly.

"Ok, I'll…I'll be in my room if you….If you change your mind." He says calmly before leaving me alone. I bury my face in my hands I'm annoyed with Peeta for interrupting me, I could've had a knife by now, I could've given myself just that little bit of relief I need.

It might upset Clove though, she'd seemed to really care when I told her all about it. The way she wiped away my tear and allowed me to be close to her. I squeeze my eyes shut at the pang of longing that shoots through me. I want to be with her right now, I want her arms around me and I wanted to hug her back.

I want to help her forget her past and she could help me forget mine. We could run away together. I could go and get Prim and my mother from District 12 and we could run. I could hunt and teach Clove how to hunt and forage.

Away from the Capitol my mother would be like she was before my father's death, she would laugh and smile. At night I would sleep in Clove's arms and wake up to her. I snort and cut the fantasy short, imagining this isn't going to do me any good, it can never happen.

I lie down on the bare bed, I could go find someone to find me some more bedding but all of a sudden I'm too tired to move. I close my eyes and before I know it I'm asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

_Clove POV:_

I take a deep breath as I aim at the target, I'm holding the bow from the ranged weapon station and trying to use it effectively. I'm not completely sure why I decided to try to use the bow, I've practiced with knives already as well as had a spar using a sword today.

I know it's important to know how to use different weapons in the arena. I've never used a bow before, they had one in the Training Centre back home but I had always ignored it. Why use a bow when you can throw knives?

But now here I am, trying to shoot arrows at the dummies. I release the bow string but accidently move my arms as I do, the arrow whizzes past the dummy and hits the wall behind it. I hear Glimmer let out a short laugh and I turn to her glaring.

Angrily I throw the bow back onto the stand and grab some knives. I throw them and they all hit the target. I shoot a glare her way, how dare she laugh at me when she was either pathetic or mediocre at using almost every weapon. Sure she could use a bow but nowhere near as well as Katniss.

I'd noticed that she seemed to spend most of her time hovering around Cato, I wonder why District 1 sent her. I know District 1 has the same system as mine where they select tributes to volunteer for the games. I wonder how pathetic the rest of the girls were for her to be the best.

Marvel on the other hand, he seems like he at least was competent. I'd seen him with a spear, he fights ferociously. He can also use a sword well enough. When it comes to ranged weapons he struggles though and I suspect he may be slightly short sighted due to the fact he squints when trying to focus on objects that are far away from him.

I glance at Cato over by the sword station, he's happily decapitating dummies, showing off his strength. That's what he plans on relying on in the arena, his strength and sponsors. I move over to the camouflage station and watch the other tributes as I learn how to disguise myself.

The District 12 male tribute wanders over and I glare at him, he shrugs and started painting his arm like tree bark. I studiously ignore him and continue watching the other tributes. Katniss wanders over from the edible plants station.

She glances at me, my lips twitch into a semblance of a smile and she returns the gesture. I turn back to my work, this is not my strong point. I sigh and wash the paint off my arm. As I'm doing this I hear Katniss speak, "Where'd you learn how to do that Peeta?"

"I used to decorate the cakes in the bakery back home."

I snort, the male District 12 tribute, Peeta as Katniss had called him, turns to me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asks, I angrily glare at him.

"There's not going to be many cakes in the arena are there 12?" I sneer, I see him bite his lip unsurely before glaring at me. I glance at Katniss and immediately regret my actions, she's staring at me, her eyes pleading me to just walk away.

"No but you never know when certain skills will come in useful." Peeta growls. I storm over to Peeta, I barely reach his shoulder but I glare up at his face.

"Is that a threat 12?" I ask menacingly and his blue eyes widen, He takes a step back. I've scared him and I send him a smirk. His eyes harden and he straightens.

"So what if it is?" He grunts and my smirk widens.

"You don't want me as an enemy 12." I say threateningly not taking my eyes off him for a second, "Or you might find that your death is neither quick nor painless." Peeta backs away, fear evident in his eyes. I smirk cruelly at him and when I glance at Katniss I see that I've gone too far, my eyes soften a bit before I turn away from them both a stalk away.

The bell for lunch rings so I approach Cato, Marvel and Glimmer. Cato grins at me when I approach him and whispers in my ear. "Glad you're starting to act like a Career Clove." I send a glare his way, knowing he's talking about my confrontation with Peeta.

It's a well known fact that Careers pick fights before entering the arena. I suppose it's because training with the weapons get boring after a while since we've done that most of our lives. I sit down with my fellow Careers and pick at the food in front of me.

I can't help but feel guilty for picking on Peeta like that. I was just so pissed off at everything. I glance over at Katniss who's sitting close to him, I scowl, feeling a stab of jealousy but shrug I off. Of course she would stay by him, he was from the same district as her.

"Tomorrow afternoon we have to show off to the gamemakers " Marvel states and I turn to him. "Everyone know what they're going to do?" He asks. Glimmer beams at him.

"Well I know what I'm going to do, I'll show them my skills with a bow." She says snobbishly and I resist the urge to snort, what skills? Sure she's better than me at it but taking 6 shots to kill a is not practical, it gives them plenty of time to run away or attack.

"I'm going to use the sword, my mentor said I'm allowed to kill a few avoxes, I'll give 'em swords and fight 'em off." Cato laughs and smacks his fist into the table. I turn away, killing avoxes? Just to impress the gamemakers, killing tributes in the arena was one thing, the thought of killing just for the sake of it left a bad taste in my mouth. I purse my lips, I'm getting soft.

Marvel stares at Cato speculatively and I wonder if he's going to say something against it but instead he just nods. "Make sure not to get injured." He says calmly, Cato laughs again.

"Like any dumb avox could hurt me." He remarks. "What about you Marvel? You going to show off your spear skills." Marvel nods slowly.

"I'm going to spar with a trainer." He says before turning to me. "What about you Clove?" I smirk at him, surely it's obvious what I'm going to do.

"Knife throwing." I say, although this is only part of the truth, I have a plan that will hopefully get me a decent score.

Lunch ends and we return to the training room. I find myself watching Katniss, she seems to follow Peeta around. I glare at him not liking his close proximity and he catches me a few times and I smirk when he does. I enjoy the way his face pales when he catches me looking at him and he usually messes up what he's doing.

I'm standing with the other Careers watching the other tributes. They seem to get a kick out of seeing the other tributes failures. Peeta seems to have become a favourite target for them. I suspect I had something to do with that but I don't mind too much, better him than Katniss.

After watching him for so long I realise just how pathetic he is, He can't seem to use a weapon nor get by in any of the survival skills. He attempts to climb the netting at the climbing station. He's struggling and I smirk when I see this and his eyes meet mime. He gulps and falls from the netting with a thump.

Cato and Glimmer burst out Laughing. Marvel grins and folds his arms while I smirk and shake my head. Katniss runs over to him and I tense, why does she care about him? I feel extremely jealous as she whispers something in his ear. He nods and stands up, he grabs a weight and throws it across the room easily.

I narrow my eyes, so he's strong , stronger than Cato by the looks of it. I'd seen Cato struggle with that weight the day before. Katniss looks over at me with an unreadable expression. I look away not wanting Cato to notice me watching her.

I'm glad when we are finally allowed to return to our apartments. I change out of my training outfit and sit down at the table for dinner. I feel Cato watching me as I eat, eventually I can't take anymore and I turn to him. "What is it Cato?" I snap, he grins at me and reaches for my hand. I scowl at him and pull away.

"You're really sexy you know that?" He says huskily. I glare at him and turn back to my food. I'm glad a have a knife in my hand even if it's not a sharp as the throwing knife. I can still do damage if he tries anything.

He pulls his chair closer to mine and leans over my shoulder, "Come on Clove, don't be like that." I pull away and look over the table to where our mentors are sitting with and our escort. Our escort smiles obliviously at me but I can see our mentors looking between us knowingly.

"Cato, eat your food, leave Clove to eat hers." Cato's mentor snaps and Cato retreats reluctantly. I glare at him before deciding I'm done eating and getting up. I decide to go to the roof and I've barley made it across the room when Cato shouts out to me. "Hey Clove where you going?" I decide not to answer and continue walking.

I enter the lift and find myself being shoved into the wall. I'm swivelled round and I find myself staring at Cato. He grins at me as I try to push him off, he's larger than me and there's nothing I can do. "Where're you going?" He asks, I glare at him.

"Get the fuck off me pretty boy or I'll…"

"Or you'll what?" He smirks and tightens his hold on me, "Or you'll throw a knife at me? What knife, you're nothing without you're knives Clove." He laughs and I purse my lips. He pushes his hips forward and I feel the bulge in his pants.

"What the fuck are you doing? Get the fuck off me!" I scream, struggling to get out of his grip, he smirks.

"You know you want this." He whispers, I spit in his face and he laughs making him release his grip slightly. I manage to get my leg free and kick him hard in between his legs. He doubles over in pain and I practically run back to the apartment.

Oriel looks up as I enter, she's surprised I returned so soon. I glare at her and storm to my room. I can't believe that bastard tried that! I sit down on my bed and try to calm myself but it's no use. I need to go to the roof but I can't risk Cato following me.

He's bound to be incredibly pissed about what I did. The roof wouldn't exactly be a safe place right now if I'm alone. If only I had a knife, if I had a knife I could easily fend him off. I hear Cato re-enter the apartment. He's stomping around angrily and when his mentor asks him what's wrong he shouts profanities at him.

I hear the bedroom door next to mine slam shut and take this as a sign that it's safe to leave my room. Oriel stands by my door with her arms folded. "What's going on Clove? Why is Cato in such a bad mood?" She asks sternly as if it's my fault. I smirk well I suppose it is my fault he's angry but the bastard deserved it, I'm going to kill him in the arena, slowly and painfully.

I push past Oriel and she grabs my shoulder, "Don't touch me." I say coldly. How dare she touch me, I hate that people are always taking liberties like that and I'm feeling extra sensitive after what happened with Cato. Her expression softens and she withdraws her hand.

"Clove, tell me what happened." She says worriedly and I snort.

"None of your fucking business, just tell that bastard to stay away from me!" I exclaim angrily. I run to the lift and quickly press the button for the 12th floor. I sigh as the doors close and the lift starts moving.


	11. Chapter 11

_Katniss POV:_

There's a knock at the door and Effie gets up to answer it. Haymitch groans from the sofa, he opens his eyes blearily and sits up bringing the empty bottle in his hand to his lips and when nothing pours out of it grunts and tries to get up before collapsing back on the sofa.

"I'm here to see Katniss." I hear a familiar voice say and I stand up. I see Clove standing by the door and instantly know something's wrong. She stands completely straight and is tense. I can see her hands curled into fists by her sides. Effie turns to me and calls me over.

I feel Peeta's eyes on me from across the room but ignore him as I walk over to the girl I love. "Clove…" My eyes meet hers and I realise here is not the best place to talk. I turn to Effie, "I'll see you later." I say and exit the apartment closing the door behind me.

I lead Clove to the lift and hastily press the roof button, knowing that once there we'll have a bit of privacy. We walk out into the fresh air together and I glance around, making sure we're alone. Once I'm sure I turn to her, looking her in the eye.

"Clove, what's wrong?" I ask worriedly, she shakes her head and wanders over to the edge of the building. She sits down and buries her face in her hands.

"It's nothing, I'm fine." She says without looking up. I frown and sit next to her.

"I know that's not true Clove." I wait but she doesn't respond, I want to take her into my arms and hold her but I know better than that. I know it will only upset her further.

"Please tell me." I whisper, she lets out a slow breath and moves her hands away from her face. I keep my eyes on her hoping she'll look at me so I can perhaps guess the reason for her upset. She clenches her jaw and I notice her flexing her fingers as if contemplating whether or not to tell me. She shakes her head.

"It's nothing, nothing good will come out of telling anyone, it will only make me look weak, if I don't already look weak to you." She says coldly and I'm taken aback by her tone.

"I don't think you're weak Clove," I say honestly, how can she think that? She's probably the strongest person I know, "nothing you tell me will make me think that." She glances at me and I see the conflict in her eyes.

She shakes her head. "I shouldn't have come here." She whispers and she buries her face in her hands once more. Cautiously I decide to try to hug her. I gently put my arm around her, giving her plenty or opportunity to pull away if she wants to.

She surprises me by turning and throwing her arms around me. I hug her back tightly and she clings to me. We don't say anything for a while, I just hold her until she pulls away. She turns away from me and I can't help but feel a little disappointed at the sudden lack of contact.

"You don't have to tell me, you know, I just…I was worried when I saw you were upset…" I trail off unsure. Clove takes a deep breath.

"It's just Cato…" She whispers. Anger flares up inside me, what had he done? Had he hurt her?

"What did he do?" I ask a bit harsher than I meant to. She glances at me and shrugs.

"It's nothing." She mutters and I automatically take her hand. I'm glad she doesn't tense or pull away from my touch.

"Did he hurt you?" I ask worriedly, she screws her eyes shut and I know the answer. "Clove…" I whisper but she pulls away from me.

"It doesn't matter, I'm fine, hell I probably hurt him more." She smirks and I can see her trying to be the Clove everyone knows, Clove the Career. Her eyes betray her though, her eyes showing how upset she really is.

"What did he do?" I ask softly. Clove just shakes her head at me and I finally accept that she's not going to tell me. "OK, you don't have to tell me." I whisper and I hold my arm out to her. She smiles slightly and leans into me allowing me to put my arm around her comfortingly.

"So you were hanging out a lot with that Peeta boy today." Clove says casually.

"Yeah, Haymitch wants us to be allies so he said we should stick together as much as possible." I reply absently.

"So you were only with him because your mentor told you to?" She asks hesitantly. I frown wondering why it mattered to her. I glance at her hopefully, I wonder if this means…No she probably only sees me as a friend. I swallow the lump in my throat at the thought of her only liking me as a friend.

"I guess so."

"So…are you friends?" Clove ask while she plays with her sleeve. I shrug, I wouldn't call Peeta my friend.

"Not really, he saved my life a long time ago but…No we're not friends." I say and Clove pulls away.

"How did he save your life?" She asks.

"When my family were starving, he purposely burned a loaf of bread and threw it to me, it kept us going until I could hunt in the forest." I say quietly, Clove nods slowly in understanding. I glance at her and wonder why she cares so much about my relationship with Peeta.

She nods slowly. "I'm sorry for picking on him so much." She murmurs, "I saw that I upset you." I shrug.

"I know, you have to act a certain way for the Careers, I understand, it's your best chance of….of survival." I tell her, I frown not wanting to think about the Hunger Games right now. Clove purses her lips and turns away.

"I'm glad you're not angry with me." She says and I smile.

"Of course I'm not angry with you, I…." I cut off, I was about to say I love you but I don't think that will go down very well. She looks at me questioningly but I keep my mouth closed, afraid I'll say something I regret if I open it.

It's getting late, we should be returning to our apartments but Clove seems reluctant to leave. I sit with her for a few minutes before asking her why she doesn't want to return already guessing the answer. She shrugs and looks away.

"Is it because of Cato?" I ask finally and she nods slowly. I was right, I decide that I hate Cato for doing whatever it was to her and if I get the chance in the games I will not hesitate to kill him. It's late and everyone is probably in bed by now so I ask if she wants to stay with me for the night.

She agrees and we enter the lift. I sneak back into the apartment first, making sure everyone is in their rooms before beckoning for Clove to follow me. Although it's not been said that it's against the rules to have another tribute stay with you for the night I'm not sure Effie would approve and Haymitch defiantly wouldn't. We enter my room and I'm glad that I have sheets on the bed again and that someone has taken away the evidence of my angry breakdown the night before.

I stare at Clove in the darkness. She's asleep next to me and I can't seem to sleep. It may have something to do with my heart beating rapidly every time I remember that Clove is sleeping right next to me.

"No….Katniss!" I turn to Clove, her face is screwed up and she throws her head from side to side. "Katniss….Cato…Stop..." I realise she's having a nightmare. I move closer to her.

"Hey Clove, wake up." I say softly shaking her shoulder but she shrinks away from my touch.

"Dad….No….Katniss!" She gasped and her eyes snap open, she gasps and sits up. I can see her shaking.

"Clove…" I reach out to her and she turns to me, her eyes full of fear.

"Katniss?" She whispers and I nod.

"Yeah, it's me." She throws her arms around me and I hug her tightly. "Was it a nightmare?" I ask after a while. She nods and I tighten my grip on her. "Want to talk about it?" She takes a deep breath.

"Cato…he attacked you and when I cried out he turned on me, he held me down, he was going to…." She gulps and shakes her head. "I looked up and my dad was there, he was going to kill you!" I'm silent for a moment, wondering why she's so concerned about my death and what Cato was going to do.

"It's ok, it's not real." I tell her soothingly. She lets out a shuddering breath.

"Cato tried to rape me, that's why I was upset." she confesses, I tense, narrowing my eyes angrily, how dare he, how dare he touch her! In this moment I want to kill him more than anything else in the world, I want to send an arrow through his eye like I've done with so many squirrels. "In the nightmare he… tried again."

"That bastard." I say angrily, unable to stop myself. Clove nods in agreement, I lie down, keeping Clove in my arms and holding her close. Eventually she calms down and relaxes into my arms. She stares at me for a while not saying anything .

"Thank you." She whispers and I frown in confusion.

"What for?"

"For this… For allowing me to stay here…For everything I guess." She murmurs back at me and I smile.

"It's nothing." I say and she snorts in amusement.

"It's not nothing, you know that as well as I." She smiles at me sleepily and I stifle a yawn.

"Whatever you say Clove." We're both exhausted, she closes her eyes.

"I'm going to sleep.. Night Katniss." She says drowsily before falling asleep, I smile and close my own eyes.

"Good night Clove."


	12. Chapter 12

_Clove POV:_

I don't open my eyes at first when I awake. I can feel arms around me and I close to a warm body. I'm confused for a moment before I remember the night before. I open my eyes and sure enough I see Katniss's sleeping face in front of me.

My arm is draped around her and she's holding me close. I smile loving the feeling of waking up next to her. I watch her sleep for a while before she stirs, she opens her eyes and sees me watching her. She grins sleepily at me as a blush appears on her cheeks. I realise my face is only inches from hers and I'd been staring at her intently.

I smirk playfully at her, not feeling willing to move right now and she seems to be content to stay where she is. After a while she pulls away from me and sits up. She stretches her arms above her head and lets out a long yawn.

"Morning Clove." She murmurs happily

"Morning." I reply as I prop myself up on my elbows and glance at the clock. It's early and I'm glad, I have to return to my own apartment hopefully without alerting anyone to the fact I spent the night in Katniss's bed. That would bring up some awkward questions, I reluctantly pull myself out of the bed.

Luckily the rest of the people in the apartment are still asleep and I make it to the lift without being spotted. As the lift brings me down to my floor I can't help but miss Katniss's presence, after my nightmare last night when she'd held me in her arms I had slept better than I ever have before.

I sigh irritably, I shouldn't dwell on it too much. I will never again sleep next to her like that. When I enter my apartment I'm irritated to find Cato awake. He looks up at me as I enter.

"Where have you been?" He asks casually but his eyes betray his anger. I sneer at him mockingly.

"None of your business." I would have preferred for him not to know I'd been missing from the apartment last night, there's definitely no way I'm telling him where I spent the night. He must not know that I like Katniss or she'll be one of his first targets during the games.

I sit down at the table and quickly eat some breakfast. Cato glowers at me and I resist the urge to show how uncomfortable I feel. I'm glad when Oriel exits her room and sits down at the table. He won't try anything in front of other people. I just have to make sure I'm not alone with him and I'll be fine.

It's not likely he'll try anything in the arena with all the cameras on him and while I have my knives, I'm glad for that small mercy. Once I've finished breakfast I go to my room to get ready for the day.

I have the morning to train and after lunch I know I will have to impress the gamemakers. I head down to the training room early to wait for them to open the doors. I'm glad to see Katniss there as well and she smiles shyly at me.

I smile back and lean against the wall at the other end of the room. More tributes start arriving and eventually the doors are opened. I head straight for the throwing knives, wanting to warm up my skills.

Cato wanders over to the ranged weapons station's He smirks at me as he casually picks up a bow. I can't help but tense, He fires a few arrows, none of which landing anywhere near the target. "So Clove, where were you last night?" He asks casually but I spot him glaring at me.

"Like I said before pretty boy, none of your business."

"Ah but that's where you're wrong Clove." He lowers the bow and turns to me smirking, his eyes filled with lust and fury. "It is my business, you're mine and you will be until you die in the arena." I clench my fists and glare at him.

"I do not belong to you Cato and you'll be dying long before me." I growl throwing a knife at a dummy hitting it in the throat to get my point across. I stalk off angrily heading towards the snares station where I spend the next few hours fumbling with the snares.

We break for Lunch and I strategically sit next to Marvel rather than Cato and the table. Glimmer sits next to Cato and smiles up at him, batting her eyelashes , Cato grins and looks her up and down. I look away from the scene in front of me feeling sick. What's wrong with Glimmer to find that brute attractive? I supress a snort, I suppose if Cato is concentrating on the District 1 girl then he'll be concentrating less on me.

Marvel clears his throat when Glimmer starts to scoot closer to Cato. She turns to him and purses her lips before moving to a more appropriate distance. I catch Marvel eyes and he rolls his eyes at me subtlety indicating to the pair across the table. I share a smile with him, glad I'm not the only one disgusted by the antics of the two across the table. I glance at Cato to see him narrowing his eyes at us while Marvel studiously ignores him while picking at his food.

All too soon lunch is over and we're told to wait outside the training room to be called in individually. Marvel gets called in first, I sit anxiously next to Glimmer and survey the other tributes. Most look just as nervous as I feel, the score the gamemakers choose to give us will determine whether or not we get sponsors.

I spot Katniss sitting in a far corner, she's staring at the ceiling with a blank expression on her face but I can see from the repeated tapping of her foot she's nervous. After what seems like forever Marvel exits the room and Glimmer is called in. I take a deep breath, I know that I'll be called in after Cato, who will be called in after Glimmer.

Marvel walks over to us not saying a word. I glance at him but otherwise pay no attention to him. I go back to watching the Tributes. Peeta looks pale, like he's going to be sick and I smirk at him before turning to the other tributes.

Glimmer walks proudly through the doors and over to Marvel. Cato grins at her and confidently swaggers into the training room. I glare at him as he goes, hating everything about him. I take a deep breath and glance around the room. Suddenly feeling even more nervous since I'll be called in next.

I catch Katniss's eye and she smiles at me reassuringly. My lips twitch in response and she turns back to the ceiling. Cato finishes showing off to the gamemakers and he walks over too me, I see blood on his shirt and feel sick, knowing he'd gone through with his plan to kill avoxes in order to impress the gamemakers.

It's a few minutes before I'm called in, I guess that they are trying to clean up the mess Cato made. When they eventually do call me in I find myself having to take deep breaths to keep calm, the training room smells strongly of disinfectant, I shudder and force myself to concentrate on what I must do. What if I can't impress them? What if f I get a low score? I shake the thoughts from my head and approach the gamemakers.

I look up at the gamemakers who are looking down at me from a room high up. I tell them my names and district and they motion for me to start. I take a deep breath and confidently walk over to the ranged weapon station. I select some knives and throw a couple, they hit the targets perfectly and I press the button to renew the dummies, that was just a warm up. I smirk feeling more confident.

I hear the gamemakers murmuring amongst themselves and I glance at them, I still have their attention and I'm glad I turn around and throw the knives one by one over my shoulder. I swivel back around so I can see my handiwork.

I renew the dummies and reach into my pocket and pull out a thick piece of cloth blindfolding myself. I throw the knives viciously at the targets in my head I visualize the dummies and I know exactly where they are and exactly how much force I need to send my knives into them.

I remove the blindfold and throw it on the floor, glancing over the dummies and I'm pleased to see that every knife hit its mark, each dummy has a selection of knives placed in a shape forming a letter and the group of dummies now have knives spelling out Clove, District 2.

I hear the gamemakers behind me gasp in wonder and I smirk, now they won't forget my name. I turn to them, they look pleased I note. I nod my head in indicating I'm finished and they let me leave. I just hope I've impressed them enough.

Cato greets me as I leave the room. He grins at me and I scowl at his blood stained shirt and he walks with me to the lift. I'm glad when Marvel and Glimmer join us, not wanting to be alone with him.

"How did everyone do?" Glimmer asks condescendingly. Marvel and I both mumble that we did fine while Cato excitedly recounts every single meaningless death he caused In order to please the gamemaker scum.

We decide to all hang out together for a while in the 1st floor apartment before the scores are televised. I sit with Marvel not saying a word as Glimmer shamelessly flirts with Cato. Eventually Glimmer manages to lead him to her room and I feel sick at the thought of what they're doing in there.

I share a look with Marvel, he looks just as disturbed as I am. I snort and stand up, I tell him I'm returning to my apartment and he nods slowly before turning on the TV. When in the lift I decide to go down to the training room to see if they're done with the evaluations yet.

As the lift doors open I'm startled by a familiar brown haired girl storming into the lift. Her eyes meet mine and I press the button for the roof, knowing we can get some privacy up there. She's silent as the lift travels upwards and I decide not to break the silence just yet.

The lift doors open and we walk out onto the roof. I glance around, checking we don't have company. I turn to Katniss who seems to have deflated as she stares at the floor. "What happened?" I ask and she sighs.

"Lets just say I didn't exactly impress the gamemakers." She murmurs. I frown, how could she not impress the gamemakers? She's amazing with a bow.

"Why not?" I ask. She crosses her arms and looks around angrily.

"They didn't care, I'm just some stupid District 12 tribute, they weren't paying attention. They were bored." She scowls and I nod slowly, she would've been the last tribute to enter the training room. "I was so nervous, I missed my first shot and they laughed and turned away to their stupid roast pig."

"So they didn't see you hit any targets?" I ask slowly. She shrugs thoughtfully then her eyes widen in fear.

"Oh shit! What have I done?" She buries her face in her hands and when I get her to look at me her eyes are filled with fear.

"What happened?" I ask urgently, not sure what brought on this sudden change of behaviour.

"I was so angry. I… I shot an arrow at them…at the apple in their pigs mouth." She stammers. I place my hands on her shoulders and look into her eyes. This is not good, if she angers the gamemakers then keeping her alive in the games is going to be difficult.

"Did you hit anyone?" I ask, hoping desperately that she hit the apple and not a gamemaker. She shakes her head and tells me she hit the apple and I sigh in relief. "Well hopefully they'll just be impressed with your skills and not angry. It would've been worse if you'd hit them." I say and she nods worriedly.

I hug her, trying to convey that even if the gamemakers were pissed I would do my best to protect her. She hugs me back tightly when she pulls away she looks me in the eyes for a long time, as if trying to find something there.

I glance at her lips wishing I could just kiss her now. I turn away to try to clear my head. "We should get back to our apartments, they'll be showing the scores soon." I say and she nods her head before re- entering the lift.


	13. Chapter 13

_Katniss POV:_

Effie is worried, it seems she heard about my actions during evaluation. Haymitch on the other had seems to be highly amused. He grins at me and congratulates me while Effie tries to make him understand the gravity of the situation.

Peeta sits silently, watching Haymitch and Effie argue from a seat by the TV. I sigh and join him. Waiting for the scores of the tributes to be shown. A blue haired man appears on the screen, I recognise him a Caesar Flickerman the presenter for the Hunger Games. He beams at the camera and starts excitedly talking about the Hunger Games and the Tributes.

Effie and Haymitch sit down next to us, knowing that soon Cesar will read out the scores that each tribute has earned. The scores that can earned range from 0 to 12. 0 being the gamemakers deem it impossible that you will win whereas 12 is nearly impossible to get.

They start with District 1 as always. Both District one tributes earn themselves a 9, this is quite a high score, but high scores are to be expected from career districts. The score will likely give them plenty od sponsors.

The face of Cato flashes on the screen and I glare at it, I hate him for what he tried to do to Clove. A 10 flashes next to him and this only increases my hatred of him, his face and score disappear. My expression softens when Clove's face appears. A keep my face blank when a 10 appears on the screen next to her.

I'm glad she got a high score, that will mean lots of sponsors for her and make it easier for her to stay alive. I try not to show how happy I am for her in case Haymitch notices. Eventually we come to our scores. Peeta's face appears and I can feel him holding his breath.

He lets it out when an 8 flashes up next to his name and he smiles around the room. I don't pay attention because now it's my turn. I stare at the screen, hoping my score won't be too low but knowing it will be.

I'm shocked to see the 11 flash onto the screen. Haymitch is silent for a moment. "You know this will make you a target right Katniss." He says softly and I nod, understanding what the gamemakers are doing. The 11 just sealed my death warrant, but I don't care I already know that I'm going to die in the arena. Perhaps my high score will make my death happen quicker and lessen my suffering.

"Tonight, you will be interviewed on live television." Effie reminds us, smiling. She at least seems pleased with my high score. "It is important to make a good impression." Haymitch snorts and stares at Peeta and I. He instructs Peeta to go and meet the stylists to get his outfit ready while he starts to prep me on how to behave during the interview. He'll prep Peeta while I'm getting my outfit from Cinna.

Haymitch sets up a mock interview. He asks all sorts of questions and I find myself baffled unable to answer half of them.

"Come on sweetheart, these are all questions you might be asked, at least make up an answer don't just sit there in silence." Haymitch throws his arms up in the air in exasperation. He decides to give up on prepping me and tells me to go see Cinna.

Cinna gives me a red dress with flames to put on, I fidget awkwardly when I realise the dress has no sleeves, I can't let people see my scars and the cuts on my arms aren't fully healed yet. Cinna tells me to get changed and I do reluctantly.

Cinna examines my arms and I awkwardly stand there, wishing I didn't have to go through this. " I have to say, I'm glad to see no fresh wounds." He smiles at me and I can't help but glare at him, hating him for talking about it, it's bad enough he can see them, that he knows what they are. He sighs and wanders over to the other side of the room. He pulls a box off the shelf and opens it.

He pulls out a pair of long red gloves that he hands to me. I put them on frantically, glad to be covering up my arms. The gloves stop just above my elbows so they cover all of my scars. I glance at him. "Erm, thank you." I murmur awkwardly and he nods.

"I thought you'd appreciate that particular detail of you outfit." He says calmly. "May I ask, does Haymitch know of your….problem?" He asks and I shake my head, desperately hoping he doesn't plan on telling him. I wonder why he's chosen now to talk to me about it, tomorrow I'll be thrown into the arena and I'll probably die so it won't matter anymore. Cinna nods slowly as he watches me speculatively.

"You're not going to tell him are you?" I ask nervously, I really don't want anyone else to find out about this.

"I'm guessing you don't want him to know?" I nod my head frantically my eyes widening in worry. He shakes his head. "It's alright, I'm not going to tell him. Just … In the arena, be careful Katniss….Infection claims just as many lives as the other tributes."

I nod slowly in understanding. I hadn't really thought about what might happen if I got the urge to cut in the arena, I suppose in the arena infection would be more of a risk. I shrug, it's not like I'm going to last that long anyway.

All too soon I'm lining up with the other tributes waiting for my turn to be interviewed. Cesar Flickerman introduces each tribute by district and name and we sit in a row of chairs to the side waiting to be called up individually. I glance up the row to see Clove, my stomach does a flip when I catch her staring at me, I smile slightly and turn away, desperately hoping that I'm not blushing.

I watch as Caesar speaks to each tribute, never losing the smile on his face. The audience watch attentively and laugh and cheer as the tributes answer the questions.

I notice Caesar's favourite subject to ask about seems to be relationships, the audience eats this up it seems in the Capitol relationships are extremely important.

It's Clove's turn and Caesar asks her if she has a boyfriend back home. I twiddle my thumbs anxiously while Clove stares at Cesar. She slowly shakes her head and she looks generally displeased by the question. I wonder why and can't help feeling hopeful that maybe just maybe...No I mustn't hope that.

Clove makes eye contact with me on her way back to her seat and her lips twitch in what I know is a smile and my heart hammers I my chest. I look away, I have to stop looking at her. I seriously hope I'm not blushing.

After what seems like forever it's my turn to be interviewed and I hesitantly walk over to the seat by Cesar. I'm so nervous that I don't hear his first question.

"Sorry, what?" I ask nervously and Caesar laughs.

"I think someone's got a little stage fright." He says and the audience laughs, I'm not sure how to respond so I just stare at him dumbly. He asks me the question again.

"What do you like most about the Capitol?" I panic, what did I like best? I hated the Capitol but I couldn't say that.

"Err, the food," I answer after a while. "Especially the stew with plums in." I tell him and Caesar laughs, encouraging the audience to join in.

"Oh I like that too, I could eat that by the bucket load." I nod dumbly, unsure how to respond to that. He then changes the topic to my entrance at the parade. He asks me if the flames are real and I tell him they are even though I know they're synthetic as I know that Cinna wants the Capitol to believe the flames were real.

"So what of your sister? You volunteered for her, what was going through your head when you volunteered?" He says cheerfully. I freeze. I don't want to talk about Prim in front of the Capitol and I can't exactly say what I was thinking, how I was desperate for her not to be put into the vile Hunger Games.

"I…I just didn't want my sister to get hurt." I whisper and Caesar nods. " My sister is important to me..."

"Of course she is." Caesar pats me on the knee and I have to resist the urge to punch him for being so patronizing.

A gong sounds and I sigh in relief that my time is up. I walk back to my chair and Peeta approaches Caesar. I don't pay attention to most of Peeta's interview, I'm too glad mine is over. Caesar asks him if he has a special girl back home and I find myself listening half interestedly.

I don't think Peeta has a girlfriend, I've never seen him with any girl at school, he tended to just stick with his friends that were all guys. Peeta shuffles nervously. "Erm…no." He says a little bit too quickly.

"Come on, a handsome young man like you? I can't believe that." Caesar says playfully.

"Well…there's this one girl, a lot of guys like her…I don't think she noticed me before the reaping though."

"Well, here's what you do, you win the games and go home, she can't say no then eh?" Peeta just shakes his head slowly.

"I don't think winning will help me."

"And why's that?" Caesar asks and Peeta looks up.

"Because she came here with me."

I scowl, he means…me….What? I clench my jaw. How dare he say that. He didn't like me, he was just using me as an angle to get the Capitol people to like him. I glare at him from my seat, the camera turns on me and I hope my face makes it clear that I don't like him back. No...I'm in love with Clove, I don't think I even like boys in that way.

The camera turns back to Peeta and I find myself glancing up the row at Clove. She's glaring at Peeta, gripping her dress as if she's trying to stop herself attacking the boy. She turns to me and her eyes soften, I'm not sure what I see there but I can't help but feel a little hope when I look into those beautiful green eyes.

I turn away, nothing good can come out of Clove loving me back and I shouldn't hope that she has feelings for me. She just sees me as a friend, that's bad enough. I swallow the lump in my throat willing myself not to cry. I want her to love me, I want to be with her every second of every day, if only we could just forget about the games.

I realise the camera has turned back to me, I'm not sure how long it's been filming me and I desperately hope it hasn't recorded the exchange between Clove and I. I look down and hope the cameras turn away from me soon.

Peeta's interview ends and the tributes are lead out of the back door. Haymitch and Effie take us back to our apartment. I glare at Peeta angrily. As soon as we enter to apartment I push him against the wall. "What the hell was that about?" I scream and Haymitch pulls me off him.

"Calm down, he did you a favour." Haymitch says but I shake my head.

"He made me look weak!" I shout at him and Haymitch sighs.

""He made you look desirable, although you could've looked nicer about it on camera, what was that? We could've worked with this but now the whole Capitol thinks you have no feelings for him."

"That's because I don't." I angrily turn to Peeta. "I never will!" I wince at the harshness of my tone. I take a deep breath. "Look, I'm sorry, you're just…..not my type." I say slowly. I can't do this anymore, I need to get to the roof. I storm out of the apartment and hastily press the roof button.

_Clove POV:_

When I first see Katniss I can't keep my eyes of her. She's so beautiful, her stylists really know what they're doing. She turns and catches me watching her. She smiles at me and blushes and I can't help the butterflies that fill my stomach. She turns away and I can't help but feel a little disappointed as I take my seat between Marvel and Cato.

I watch the interviews of Glimmer and Marvel nervously. I know it's my turn after Marvel. I keep my head up high as I stroll to the seat by Caesar, hoping that I look confident like a Career should. Caesar starts to ask me meaningless questions. I resist the urge to sigh at the stupidity of some of them but I smile and answer trying to look likable.

Caesar asks me if I have a boyfriend. The Capitol people cheer and clap in approval of this question. I can't help but purse my lips. That is really none of his business. Of course I don't have a boyfriend, I've never wanted a boyfriend and never will.

"No." I reply coldly and clench my teeth at the sound of my voice, perhaps that was a bit to harsh sounding. The gong sounds and I let out a breath before moving back to my seat. I catch Katniss's eye and can't quite stop my lips twitching into a small smile before she looks away.

I only half listen to the other interviews, not really caring about the other tributes. Katniss approaches the chair and I watch her with interest. She's nervous and doesn't seem to hear Caesar's first question.

I scowl when Caesar makes a joke of this and the audience laughs at her expense. I can't help but clench my fingers around my dress, bunching up the material. Katniss answers the questions and she seems relieved when she returns to her seat.

Now it's time for the other District 12 tribute, Peeta, to be interviewed. I suppress a sigh. One more interview to go then I can go back to my apartment. Caesar asks Peeta if he has a girlfriend at home who tells him he doesn't after Peeta presses him Peeta admits he likes a girl.

I resist the urge to snort, telling the Capitol all about your failed love life was just… pathetic…And Peeta was already incredibly pathetic. Caesar tells Peeta to go win the games so the girl will like him. I'm not able to fully contain the snort this time and I'm glad no one seems to notice. As if that impish boy from 12 has any chance of winning.

"I don't think winning will help me."

"And why's that?" Caesar asks

"Because she came here with me."

Ice cold anger fills me as I realise the implication of these words. He means Katniss. No! Katniss is mine! I scowl at him, wishing I had a knife that I could throw through his throat. The audience are eating it up, great star crossed lovers of district 12. It makes me sick, I glance at Katniss and find her eyes on me.

My anger melts away when our eyes meet. I want to go to her. To take her lips in mine and to show the Capitol that she's mine. No, she's not mine, she cannot be mine, she doesn't love me back. Tomorrow we will be thrown into an arena where only one person may come out alive and it will be her, she has to survive.

I notice the cameras back on her and they follow her gaze and a camera is subtly on Cato and I. I scowl and look away from her, hoping to cover up my feeling for her, I don't want the Capitol to know. I can't let the Capitol know. I'm not sure why, perhaps because if she is thought to care for Peeta she has a better chance of sponsors, the Capitol people will eat up this star crossed lovers thing.

I'm relieved when I finally return to my apartment. My mentor congratulates me on a good interview and I nod absently. I trail over to the dining table and help myself to the rich Capitol food that's being served there.

"Hey Clove.." Cato turns to me a smirk on his lips. "You know, District 12 aren't the only ones who can do the star crossed lovers act. " He leans closer to me and places his hand on my thigh while the other sits on the table.. "And we can put on a better show." He whispers.

I see red. I grip the knife I've been using to cut up a steak in my hand. I mustn't hurt him before the games but he needs to be taught as lesson. I glance at the hand on his table and strike at it driving the knife between his middle and ring finger, nicking the side of his middle finger only slightly.

He yelps and looks down at the bead of blood forming on his finger. I smirk at him. "I don't think so, pretty boy and if you touch me again I'll cut off your finger and your pathetic excuse for a dick." Our mentors and escort are staring at me with their mouths open slightly at my outburst. I storm off hoping that my act had scared Cato enough that he won't follow me. As I stand I pull the knife out of the table and pocket it making sure Cato knows I'm armed so he can't try anything.


	14. Chapter 14

_Katniss POV:_

I storm out of the lift onto the roof, taking a deep breath of air I relax my shoulders finding that it calms me somewhat. I wander over to edge with the bush of white flowers hanging over it. I sit down trying to ignore the disappointment of not finding Clove there.

I stare out at the city, I wonder if Peeta really does like me in that way or if he's just trying to play the Capitol. I purse my lips and pull my knees up to my chest, it's not a bad move, the Capitol will love him. They can relate to unrequited love, but what about me?

I sigh as I realise I just looked like a complete bitch on live television. Wonderful, that's going to get me plenty of sponsors I think sarcastically. I hug my knees tightly and bury my face in them, wishing I could just shut everything out.

I'm not sure how long I sit like that but eventually I hear the lift door open and someone step out of it. I look up and listen closely. The person is breathing heavily and I hear them getting closer and closer. I turn around just in time to see Clove come into sight.

She stops and we stare at each other for a moment before she gives me a weak smile and sits next to me. We sit in companionable silence and I'm glad of that, I don't know what to say to her. She's close to me and that makes my heart drum loudly in my chest, I'm sure she can hear it.

"So, that Peeta boy likes you?" Clove says slowly, I glance at her, she's not looking at me and is nervously playing with her sleeve. I shrug slowly.

"I guess so." I wince at the amount of venom in my voice, she turns to me a playful smile gracing her lips, I stare at them, wishing I could just…no! I have to stop thinking like this.

"And you don't like him back?" She asks, feigning a playful tone. I snort at the question, of course I don't like him. I glance at her, wondering why she seems to care so much, Our eyes meet and she looks at me searchingly.

"Of course not…he's…not my type." I answer slowly and she nods in understanding. I can't help staring at her lips and almost find myself leaning toward her, I force myself to look away. "So…What brings you to the roof?" I try to ask nonchalantly.

Clove shrugs "Cato." She replies simply. I ball my hands into fist and turn to her angrily.

"What did he do? Did he hurt you?" I snarl a bit more savagely than I meant to. She seems taken back by my response for a moment before she smirks and shakes her head. She wraps her arm around my shoulder and I can't help but lean into her.

"Relax Katniss, he didn't hurt me…he wanted to try out the whole star crossed lovers thing." She says, I tense not liking the idea of Cato being with Clove even if it was just an act. Clove strokes my cheek gently with her thumb and looks down at me. "I made it very clear I wasn't up for that." She whispers and I relax, glad that she wasn't planning on getting with that bastard.

We sit quietly for a while longer, just staring out at the city. I contemplate what's going to happen to us. I find myself wishing this night could last forever, just sitting on the roof with Clove, with her arm around me, feeling her warm body so close to me.

Tomorrow we'd be thrown into the arena, I guess that meant Clove would be trying to kill me as well as the other tributes. Careers didn't make alliances with District 12 tributes. Tomorrow I would probably die, I knew I wasn't going to win and I'd ether die tomorrow or later during the games.

I pull away from Clove, I'm going to die, the fear really starts to set in and I have to turn away. I'm going to die, fine I knew that when I volunteered but Clove, what if she died. What if she died before me? I don't think I'd be able to take it.

Is my mother taking care of Prim? Will she after my death? Is Gale bringing them fresh meat like he said he would if I got reaped? I gulp the two most important people to me could die and there's nothing I can do about it.

I start shaking uncontrollably, feeling trapped in my predicament. There's nothing I can do, absentmindedly I clutch my arm, wishing right then I could slash it to ribbons, to be in control but that won't help anything. I'll still be just as trapped as before.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Clove asks, trying to pull me close to her, I shake my head. This is a bad idea, all of it, I shouldn't have let myself care about this person so much. I shake my head, I have to get away. I stand up and start to walk away. I can't even bring myself to give an explanation to the confused girl behind me.

Clove moves to stand in front of me and I stop walking. I look down allowing my fringe to cover my eyes. "What's wrong?" she asks again and I just shake my head. Slowly I look at her, I'm sure she can see the absolute terror in my eyes.

"I'm scared," I whisper, I'm still shaking and I can't seem to stop, "I'm going to die and I'm scared…I won't be able to provide for Prim if I'm dead and I don't know if my mother will. I'm trapped here, I'm trapped and there's nothing I can do." I squeeze my eyes shut and feel myself being pulled into Clove's arms.

I hug her back tightly, it's a terrible thing that this has become all too familiar but I need this right now. I need to breath in her familiar scent, to feel her arms around me. I need her, I need her to be with me and I need her to need me, I tighten my hold on her. "You don't have to be afraid." She whispers, "I won't let you die in the arena, I'll make sure you go home." I gasp because I know what this means.

If she wants to make sure I go home then that means she plans to die in the arena. There can only be one victor. I pull away, this thought only serves to increase the terror I feel, she can't die, I can't let her die, not for me or anyone, I can't live without her.

"You can't do that." I gasp, she just shakes her head sadly.

"I've already made up my mind."

"Why?" I ask desperately, she examines my face hesitating for a moment. She then leans in to kiss me. My heart rate increases as I lean into the kiss. I feel her tongue on my bottom lip and I open my mouth allowing her tongue to enter my mouth.

Our tongues fight for dominance for a while until we part gasping for breath. "Clove…" I start to whisper but she has none of it, capturing my mouth once again. .She pushes me down and I'm lying on the ledge. The concrete is hard but I find I don't mind much. She's on top of me and all I can do is hold her there. Wanting her to stay there with her lips on mine.

We part and stare into each other's eyes. Her eyes are so beautiful, I count the different shades of green in them and lie there still, mesmerised by her beauty. She smiles at me and brushes her hand against my cheek.

"I love you." I whisper, finally admitting it out loud. She grins and her eyes feel with joy that makes my heart leap. She kisses me again and when she pulls away I hear her whisper.

"I love you too Katniss." She gets off of me and stands up, offering her hand to me which I take, she pulls me up and we stare at each other for a while. Eventually she has to leave. I do too, I don't want to be separated from her but I have to.

I watch her go before taking the next lift down to the 12th floor. As I climb into bed I smile. Clove loves me and I love her. My grin fades when I remember the games.

She'd said she'd keep me alive, but a life without her would be no life at all. As a fall asleep I decide to try to keep her alive if I can. She should win the games not me. I can't live without her. I sigh, in the space of a few short days she has become my everything.


	15. Chapter 15

_Clove POV:_

I stroll back into my apartment. Cato glares at me from across the room but I ignore him and enter my bedroom. Katniss loves me, a grin spreads across my face as I remember that fact. I get ready for bed and settle down beneath the covers, I wish Katniss were here, I sigh and close my eyes tightly, I need to be well rested for tomorrow.

I open my eyes again as I remember what is going to happen tomorrow, Katniss could die! I gulp, I will protect her no matter what. She loves me, I turn over and contemplate the implication of this. She'll be upset when I die. I shake my head, it didn't matter, she has to survive, she has to win. I close my eyes and allow myself to drift off into an uneasy sleep filled with nightmares of losing the only person who's ever meant anything to me.

I awake with a start as someone bangs harshly on my door. "Get up Clove! We've got to go soon!" I hear Cato yell and I groan, sitting up slowly. I rub my eyes and try to get my brain to function properly. The door bursts open. "Are you deaf? Get the fuck up!" Cato shouts, I glare at him wishing I could throw a knife through his head.

"Get out of my room." I say darkly and he snarls at me. Oriel comes into my room and tells him to leave, he shrugs and after sending a glare my way stomps out of the room. Oriel turns to me and smiles, she's holding a pile of clothes that she places on the bed.

"These are the clothes you'll wear for now, you'll be taken in a hovercraft with the other tributes to the arena where your stylist will give you the rest of your outfit." She tells me, I grunt in reply and have a look at the clothes she's given me, a dark red T- shirt and some tawny trousers, with a thick belt. I was also given some socks and some soft leather boots.

I nod to Oriel and she leaves the room. I decide to have an extra long shower before getting into the new clothes, after all this will probably be my last shower and I want to enjoy it. I put the clothes on and sort out my hair, putting it up in a high ponytail that will stay out of my face.

When I exit my room I spot Cato sitting at the dining table gorging himself on the foods around him. I sit down next to Oriel and load my plate with a moderately sized breakfast. Once we've finished we're lead to a car. I spot Katniss get into a car with Peeta, She's wearing the same as me except she has a long sleeved black top on instead of a red t-shirt. I'm glad her stylist is allowing her to cover her arms, I don't know how the Capitol would react to seeing them.

The drive is short and all too soon my mentor is leading me towards a huge hovercraft. Oriel turns to me. "This hovercraft will take you to the launch room. Once there you'll meet your stylist. When you're dressed you'll be sent up to the arena, don't step off the pedestal until the countdown is up or you'll be blown to pieces." She says seriously and I nod in understanding.

Oriel leaves me and peacekeepers take me on to the Hovercraft. Most of the tributes are already seated. I'm told to take the seat at the end and I do so. I'm pleased when Katniss is seated next to me and can't help but send a smile her way. She stares at me, her eyes wide and I can see from the lack of colour in her face that she's terrified. I wish I could take her into my arms and tell her it's going to be alright but I have to keep up appearances.

I glance around at the other tributes, most look absolutely terrified and even Marvel looks a bit apprehensive. I notice Cato sitting arrogantly further up the hovercraft and he catches my eye and smirks. I glare at him and his smirk widens before he turns away.

I notice some tributes wear T-shirts while others wear long sleeved shirts. I suppose this is decided by their Stylist and once we get to the launch room we will be dressed the same.

All the tributes are seated and a Capitol woman in white clothes starts walking between the tributes she carries a gun type thing with a huge needle attached to it. She approaches the tribute that's furthest away from me.

"Arm please." She says and the boy hesitantly holds out his arm. She jams the needle into it and after a whizzing noise removes the needle. I notice Katniss clutch the arm rests of her seat. The Capitol woman works her way down the row and I notice Katniss get more and more agitated the closer the woman comes.

I resist the urge to place my hand on hers to calm her, our eyes meet and I give her a reassuring smile that she returns slightly. She looks like he's going to vomit and I desperately hope she doesn't. Showing such weakness in front of the other tributes isn't a good idea.

"What is that?" She asks the woman when she injects the tribute next to her. The woman glances at her but otherwise ignores her, finishing injecting the tribute in front of her.

She turns to Katniss, "Arm please." Katniss hesitates, clutching the seat harder for a moment before slowly raising her arm to the woman. The woman rolls Katniss's sleeve up partially and scrunches her nose up in disgust when she sees the scars there.

"What is that?" She asks again, the woman sighs and jams the needle into Katniss causing Katniss to hiss. I tense, wishing I could spring at the woman who was daring to cause Katniss pain. Once she pulls the needle out the woman answers Katniss's question.

"Your tracker." The woman turns to me and asks me for my arm, I give it to her and clench my teeth to keep myself from reacting as the needle is shoved into my arm. A blue light glows under my skin for a moment before going out. I flex my fingers and bend my arm experimentally and I'm glad that I feel nothing under the skin.

Once the woman has injected each tribute she wanders off and the hovercraft engine starts. I feel the vehicle start to move and my stomach jerks when we take off. I glance around at the tributes and wonder how long this journey will take. Sighing I lean back in my seat. I spot peacekeepers sitting at the far side of the hovercraft, they glare at us as if daring use to misbehave.

Eventually the hovercraft lands and peacekeepers lead us away singly. I'm led to a room where I meet with my stylist. I stare ahead blankly as he checks over the clothing I'm wearing, making sure my boots are done up correctly and my clothes look just right. I turn to him and realise I never learnt his name, I suppose there really wasn't much point. I'd never see him again and he didn't seem to be one for talking anyway. At least he wasn't one for touching a lot either.

He hands me a rust red water proof jacket and tells me to put it on. The jacket has a hood and plenty of pockets as well as a thermal layer. I zip it up and turn to him. He points to a glass tube, indicating I should enter it.

"3 minutes." An electronic voice sounds and I gulp as I realise just how close I am to the arena. The arena where I have decided I will die. I take a shuddering breath as my heart increases in speed. I stick my hands in my pockets to stop them from shaking.

I can do this, I tell myself as I take a step forwards. "2 Minutes." The voice sounds again and I glance at my stylist. He watches me with and eyebrow raised and something that looks like amusement on his face. I glare at him, hating him for seeing my weakness, hating him for finding my fear amusing. The anger helps me centre myself and I send a smirk his way before confidently striding into the tube. "One minute." The voice says.

The door closes and I watch my stylist daring him to laugh at me. I can do this. He smiles at me and looks at his watch. "30 Seconds." The voice says and I take my hands out of my pockets, wanting them to be ready if I need them.

The floor I'm standing on starts moving upward slowly and after what feels like forever I'm being raised into the arena. I glance around. Cato is on the Pedestal to my right whilst the boy from 3 is on the pedestal to m left.

I can see the cornucopia in front of me, Shining silver in the sunlight. A huge orange number counts down from 50 on top of it, indicating when we can move without being blown up. I glance at the surrounding area, we seem to be in a clearing of a forest. Brilliant, Katniss has told me about her hunting trips into the forest around her district, she will hopefully be fine feeding herself in this arena.

I spot Katniss at the end of the semi-circle of pedestals, she's glancing between the forest around her and the cornucopia indecisively. I see her glance at Peeta who shakes his head urgently, as if trying to tell her not to do something.

I turn back to the cornucopia. Various supplies are scattered around it getting more valuable the further away they are. I squint and spot what I'm looking for, a set of throwing knives. My finger itch to get my hands on them, I'll feel safe once I've got them.

The numbers count down. 5… I ready myself to sprint forwards, 4… I'm fast, I should be able to get to those knives before the others, 3…..I take a deep breath, 2…I exhale slowly ready to run, 1… The number turns to 0 and I dash forward, half expecting the ground beneath me to explode. Nothing happens though and I run as fast as I can. I easily leave Cato behind.

I get to the cornucopia first and grab the knives, the boy from 7 is close behind me and I grab a knife throwing it through his head. My fellow careers join me as I strap the vest holding throwing knives to myself, they grab their preferred weapons before viciously attacking the tributes around them.

I throw knife after knife and find myself drifting away from the cornucopia slightly. I spot Katniss grab an orange backpack and I'm glad that she's managed to get some supplies. A boy in a yellow jacket runs toward her with an axe. No, he raises the axe above her head and she looks up at him terrified. I react without thinking ,I throwing a knife at him, hitting him between the shoulder blades, he staggers and falls to the side.

Katniss's eyes widen and she looks around startled. Her eyes meet mine. She looks like a frightened rabbit, why isn't she running? Run I try to scream at her with my eyes but she stays put, I snarl, she has to get out of here. I throw a knife at her, aiming for her bag. It hits her bag and it seems to snap her out of her stupor, she gets up and runs away only pausing to glance over her shoulder at me.

I turn back to the cornucopia and help finish off the few remaining tributes that were stupid enough to hang around until only myself and my fellow Careers stand there. I glance around and the cannon starts to sound, indicating the deaths of the tributes around us. The cannon sounds 11 times, indicating 11 deaths. After retrieving the knives I threw approach the cornucopia and start rifling through the items there.

I grab a red pack and inside am pleased to find some food, a sleeping bag, a torch, some iodine, and an empty water container. It's always worth having some food and basic supplies on your person in case we somehow lose control of the cornucopia. Cato laughs at my efforts, saying that we didn't need to worry about carrying things with us except weapons. I glare at him and continue my efforts.

Glimmer searches through the items too searching for things that could be of use, she straps a small sword to herself and throws the quiver full of arrows over her back. Cato gathers up the two biggest swords while Marvel grabs all the spears.

I pick up some more empty water containers and hand them to the other careers who strap them to themselves. "Doesn't look like we've got any water." I murmur.

"Screw water. Let's go hunting." Cato says joyfully, raising his sword above his head. I glare at him and sigh, Cato seems to have taken the lead of the group as Marvel and Glimmer nod in agreement.

We wander a short way into the woods until we hear a rustling noise, Glimmer shrieks in glee and fires an arrow toward the sound. I hear a crash and a familiar face falls out of a bush. Cato grins, grabbing the boy and holding a sword to his neck. I snort when I see that Glimmer missed him completely. If I'd thrown a knife I would've hit him, I wish I had but she had reacted faster than me.

"Well hey there lover boy." Cato says evilly, I watch as Peeta's eyes widen and he struggles to get free from Cato's grip.

"Just kill him already Cato." I say, I don't' like Peeta, I hate him for using Katniss to appeal more to the Capitol. If he was telling the truth about loving her, I hate him even more, Katniss is mine, she loves me not him and I love her. I pull knife from my vest and hold it between 2 fingers fully intending to throw it between his eyes.

"No….I can…I can...help you." Peeta gasps and Cato smirks at me.

"Patience Clove," He whispers before tightening his grip on Peeta. "Tell us, how exactly do you plan on helping us?" he says mockingly and I glare at him.

"I can...I can help you … find her… Katniss." He splutters, I glare at him and raise my knife.

"As if we need your help 12, you're pathetic." I snarl, how dare he, if it's true that he can help us find Katniss then he's better off dead. I will not let anyone harm Katniss.

"Wait." Marvel places a hand on my arm to stop me throwing the knife and I jerk away from him. How dare he touch me! I grip my knife and force my arm to my side to stop myself form slashing his throat open. Cato looks at Marvel questioningly. "Katniss…the girl from 12, she got an 11 so the gamemakers must think she's got a chance of winning. That means that she's probably the biggest threat right now. If he can help us find her, we can kill her quicker."

Cato frowns and I can almost see the wheels in his head turning. He grins and nods, releasing his hold on Peeta. "Alright 12, you're going to help us, congratulations, you just joined the Careers, what an honour for your pathetic district." He laughs and I scowl at Marvel, hating him for suggesting we actually allow Peeta to help.

Peeta stands up and I hope he'll turn and run so I can put a knife in his back but he doesn't. "So 12, where would lover girl have gone?" Cato asks smirking down at Peeta .

"She er…she probably would've gone to find water."

"We should probably find some water to." Marvel says thoughtfully ,Cato glares at Marvel but nods. He turns back to Peeta.

"And where would she go to find water?" He asks and Peeta shrugs. Cato smirks and grabs him again, forcing him to the floor with a sword to his throat. I smirk hoping Cato will dispatch the annoying boy right there but he doesn't.

"Ahh…She'd walk… Look for… Animal Tracks…" Cato releases Peeta and he falls to the ground gasping. "I… can… show… you." He gasps and shakily stands up.

"I'll lead you to water." He says. We agree and Peeta leads us deeper into the forest. We don't find Katniss but we find a pool of water where we can fill our water containers. We eat a quick lunch from the food in my pack, I'm irritated that they are eating into my supply and tell them that next time they have to carry their own food.

We find no Tributes and return to turn to the cornucopia before nightfall to eat. I refill my pack and when I find some matches I place them with the food. You never knew when you're going to need to start a fire and my fire making skills aren't exactly perfect.

Cato suggests we go out looking for tributes again at nightfall. Marvel and Glimmer agree but I'm not too keen on the idea. What if we stumble upon Katniss, asleep and defenceless? I don't know if I'd be able to protect her should that happen.

The group gathers up some torches and weapons as well as water and a bit of food and I reluctantly follow them out into the trees. Hoping desperately that Katniss has found a good hiding place to sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

_Katniss POV:_

I sit down on a log under a large tree, deciding to see what I managed to get from the cornucopia. I gently pull the knife Clove threw out of the backpack and I'm glad it didn't puncture all the way to the main compartment. She must of thrown it gently. I stare at the blade wondering what it would feel like pressing into my skin, it looks sharp, sharper than what I'm used to but… No I mustn't cut myself here. I attach the knife to my belt and open the backpack.

Inside the back pack I find a black sleeping bag, a pack of crackers, some dried beef strips, a bottle of iodine, a box of wooden matches, a bit of coiled wire, some sunglasses, and an empty black water bottle.

I put the items back into the backpack. The backpack has some useful items although it seems to be an unfortunate colour being bright orange and it won't camouflage well in the forest. I move some fallen leaves away from the ground and scoop up a handful of mud, rubbing it over the back pack until I'm happy with the results.

I stand up, slinging the pack over my shoulders. It's time to find some water, I start walking keeping my senses alert for any other tributes and scanning the ground for animal tracks, if I can find some they may lead me to water.

Night falls and I haven't had any luck with finding water. I climb a tree and settle myself in its branches not wanting to spend the night on the ground in the open. I lick my dry lips wishing I had something to drink.

As I look into the sky the national anthem starts to play and the faces of the tributes that died that day appear in the sky. I let out a breath of relief when I don't see Clove's face up there, I knew that she wouldn't be up there but that doesn't stop me from worrying.

I close my eyes and drift off to sleep, I'm glad of the sleeping bag as it keeps out the nights chill. I awaken suddenly when the smell of burning reaches my nostrils. Looking around I spot a small fire in the distance and what looks like the shape of a girl hunched over it.

I watch as 5 shadows appear next to her, I stare at them knowing them to be the careers. I stare at the shortest one, Clove, I wish I could go to her, be with her. I wonder who the 5th tribute in the group is but they're too far away to identify, but I can tell from their shape that they are male.

The largest male shadow attacks the girl while another kills her. I wince when I hear her bloodcurdling screams and scrunch my eyes shut. A cannon sounds and I reopen my eyes. The careers seem to be laughing amongst themselves while Clove and the unknown tribute stand off to the side in silence. The fire is put out and I'm in pitch darkness.

I bite my lip as my heart increases in speed. What if they see me? If they head this way then they could find me. I see a light appear where the fire once was and realise the careers have torches. They start heading my way and I gulp.

As they approach me I hold my breath, I spot Cato and the girl from 1, Glimmer I think her name is, leading. Glimmer is excitedly recounting the kill and giggling into Cato's ear. I glare at him, remembering what he tried to do to Clove.

I wish I could kill him right now, but that would be unwise, he could easily overpower me. I scan the rest of the group, the boy from 1 trails behind Cato and Glimmer looking bored but it's the boy walking next to him that makes me pause, Peeta. What is Peeta doing with the careers? Cato turns to him.

"You sure she went this way?" He asks and Peeta nods.

"She wouldn't have gotten far." He replies and I scowl down at him, so he's helping them find me. Clove has her hands in her pockets and she's glaring at Peeta. I wish I could talk to her.

"Come one Cato, we should get back to the Cornucopia, we should get some sleep." Clove says causally, apparently Cato has taken the lead of the group. Cato turns to her angrily to Clove.

"No, I want to find her!" He smirks. "I'm going to be the one to kill her." He laughs and shoves Peeta in front of him. "Come on then lover boy, lead us to your girlfriend." I purse my lips at being called his girlfriend. I'm not his girlfriend, I'm not even his friend! I let out a small growl and I'm lucky that the careers don't seem to hear it.

The group moves ahead slightly leaving Clove behind. "You coming Clove?" The boy from 1 asks, she shakes her head.  
"I'm going back to the cornucopia, someone should ma k sure no one steals our supplies and I'm fed up of all this traipsing through the forest, We've been at it for hours and only found one tribute, besides I don't think we'll find her tonight." Clove crosses her arms and the boy nods.

"Want me to come with you?" he asks but Clove shakes her head.

"I can look after myself." She snaps and the boy, the boy shrugs.

"Ok, I'll tell Cato where you've gone." He turns and runs to catch up with the group. I wait a few minutes and Clove doesn't move. She sighs and leans against the tree I'm sitting in. After what seems like forever Clove turns her torch and shines it up into the tree, I squint down at her and when my eyes adjust I can see her smirking at me.

"Nice plan, Katniss." She says and I shrug. I slowly extract myself from the sleeping bag and clamber down the tree, using Clove's light to guide me.

"How'd you know where I was?" I ask and she snorts.

"You're quiet but not quiet enough for me, you're lucky the others didn't hear you." I nod and she looks me up and down. "Where are you heading anyway?" I shrug.

"Just moving, avoiding conflicts." I tell her, I'm not exactly sure where I'm going. All I know is I'm looking for water. Clove nods slowly I look into her face wishing it was light enough for me to see her eyes. "We could form an alliance you know." I state suddenly, "We could go back to the cornucopia and gather some more supplies and wander off on our own. "

Clove smiles sadly and shakes her head. " I'd rather take out a bit of the completion before I do something that drastic." She inclines her head towards the direction that the group of Careers went and I nod in understanding it would be too risky for her to leave the Careers right now.

"I should get going." Clove murmurs and she shines her torch at the tree, allowing me enough light to climb back up. I stare at her and she reaches for my hand gripping it in hers. I cannot see her eyes but I understand the meaning of this gesture. She loves me and she wants me to stay safe. I grip her hand tightly before letting go. I climb the tree and settle myself in the sleeping bag.

When I look down all I see is darkness and I know Clove is gone. I swallow the lump in my throat at the thought of her not being there. I want her here, with me. I close my eyes and lick my lips, I wish I'd asked Clove for some of her water, I'm sure she had some, I sigh, I'll just have to find water tomorrow. I try to ignore my thirst as I drift off to sleep.

When I awake in the morning I find I have and irritating headache that I know to be due to dehydration. After forcing myself to eat some crackers I climb down from the tree and continue in the direction I've been heading. I struggle to concentrate on the surrounding area, I need water, I shake my head in an attempt to clear it but find that makes my headache worse.

I'm forced to stop to hunt as my stomach rumbles loudly. I use the coiled wire to set up a snare and catch a rabbit with it. I make a fire and cook it quickly, eating part of it while storing the rest in my pack. I put out the fire and hurry onward hoping that no one noticed my fire.

I'm glad that I don't meet any tributes, I don't think I'd be able to defend myself affectively right now. I keep walking hoping to find a water source soon. If I caught a rabbit around here then surely there must be water nearby.

The evening comes and I lean against a tree and sigh, staring up at the sky. I suppose I'm not too popular with sponsors since no one seems to want to send me water. I wonder what the Capitol makes of my interaction with Clove the night before, if they showed it that is.

I close my eyes wishing it would rain or even snow. I listen to the sounds of the forest. Birds are singing, a slight breeze blows through the forest and I hear a faint distinctive sound of water flowing. My eyes snap open, water! I shakily stand and start to head toward the noise, desperately hoping I had heard right and wasn't hallucinating in my desperation.

The sun starts to set and I'm forced to stop walking. I cannot travel during the night as the forest becomes pitch black. I climb a tree and settle myself in my sleeping bag for the night. Tomorrow, if I can just last the night then I'll be able to make it to the water source tomorrow I tell myself as I try to ignore my searing headache.

The morning comes and I'm dizzy. I almost fall out of the tree but I grab a branch just in time. I listen to the quiet forest and start heading towards the noise I heard the evening before. My thirst intensifies as I stumble through the forest.

It's what I'd estimate as a few hours before I make it to the river. Water! I stumble to the side and force myself not to just drink. I know how to purify water, I'd learnt how from my father and refreshed my memory in the training room.

I fill the bottle and add a few drops of the Iodine from my pack. After about what I think is 5 minutes I turn the bottle upside down and open the lid slightly allowing part of the treated water to seep out purifying the rim of the bottle. I do up the bottle and stagger over to a tree. I know I need to wait 30 minutes for the Iodine to purify the water before I can drink.

The 30 minutes passes slowly and I try to think about anything but the bottle of delicious water in front of me. It's not worth getting some kind of disease from drinking unclean water, I tell myself, I'd seen people back home who had drank water straight from the river come to see my mother and the effects of the diseases were not pleasant.

Before my father died my mother had been a healer, she knew a lot about using plants to treat various illnesses and injuries. She had tried to teach me but I'd never really grasped it that well, Prim on the other hand seemed to soak up the information like a sponge.

I smile at the thought of Prim but it falters when I remember that I'll never see her again. I can't go home, I can't live without Clove. She has to win not me. I feel like crying as I remember her words a few nights ago, when she said she loved me and I told her I loved her. I clench my teeth, crying right now will not help my situation.

I think 30 minutes has passed and I gratefully take a swig of water from the bottle. The water tastes wonderful and I find myself drinking the lot. My head feels so much better and I can concentrate better on my surroundings now. I refill the bottle and add some iodine. I munch on a bit more of the rabbit I killed yesterday and contemplate what my next move should be.

I decide to start heading downstream, hoping to keep the water source close by. I know this is risky as I'm not sure how many water sources there are and for all I know this could be the only one which means all the tributes will want to come here. I shudder at the thought of having no water, it's a risk worth taking.


	17. Chapter 17

_Clove POV:_

I nibble at the apple in my hand and watch Glimmer interact with Cato with my eyes narrowed. Gimmer is practically sitting in Cato's lap while hand feeding him dried fruit from a packet in her pocket.

Marvel has wandered off around the outskirts of the cornucopia clearing, searching for any tributes stupid enough to try to steal from us. Cato is getting frustrated, it's day 4 of the games and he's not killed anyone since the early hours of day 2.

I glance over at Peeta who is fiddling with a bottle of water, things aren't looking good for him. If Cato gets too bored he's liable to kill Peeta just for his own amusement. Marvel returns to the group. I look at him questioningly and he shakes his head, no tributes.

"It looks like everyone's avoiding the Cornucopia." Marvel says thoughtfully. Cato snorts and pushes Glimmer off his lap. He grabs his sword and storms over to Peeta.

"Looks like you're not as helpful as you said you'd be lover boy." He snarls and Peeta cowers back. I smirk, if Cato kills Peeta here then there will be less chance of us finding Katniss. I've been watching the sky at night when the national anthem plays hoping desperately I won't see her face in the sky.

I wonder where Katniss is right now, I wonder if she has water and food, I hope she does. I shudder at the thought of her starving to death. Perhaps I should have given her some water and food from my pack when I met her on the first night.

"I…She won't come here… She'll be moving around…You won't find her if you stay here…I can lead you to where she's probably gone." Peeta stutters and I glare at him.

"Just kill him Cato, he's worth nothing to us." I snarl viscously but Cato shakes his head smirking at me.

"Lover boy is right. If tributes are avoiding the cornucopia we should go and hunt for them! They won't steal from us, they won't know this place is undefended." He laughs and holds the tip of his sword to Peeta's throat. "Alright lover boy you're going to lead us to your girlfriend." He smirks and turns to the rest of us. "Grab a pack and load it with food and other stuff we'll need, we're going hunting!"

I roll my eyes and grab the red pack I'd been filling with useful items that I might need over the past few days. Making sure all my things are inside it along with my spare knives and check my knife vest. Every knife is clean and in its place. I'm ready to 'go hunting' as Cato put it.

I watch and Marvel and Glimmer scamper to grab packs looking for important items. Cato saunters over and selects a dark green pack from the pile of supplies in the cornucopia. Cato also passes a black pack to Peeta ordering him to carry some items.

I follow my fellow careers as we enter the forest. We walk with Peeta leading us. I scowl at the back of Cato's head, hating that this could bring us closer to Katniss. My fingers brush against the knives on my vest. I could kill him right now. I could kill them all and then disappear into the forest and look for Katniss myself.

I sigh, they are my best chance at taking out the majority of the completion I can't kill them yet. Not until there's less tributes to worry about. We walk through the night, using our torches to see where we're going and stopping only to eat.

I can hear running water and know Peeta leads us towards the sound not a bad move really, we need to refill our water containers and it's likely we will find tributes around water as they need to drink too. I stop walking when I smell smoke. The others don't seem to notice it and they keep walking. I follow cautiously. We approach a river and I see it, across the river is a fire that's dying out, it looks like it was a big fire, many of the trees are burnt to a crisp.

_Katniss POV:_

I awake suddenly to the smell of burning, I grown thinking that a tribute has made a fire near me. I open my eyes when I feel extreme heat against my face. Fire! Fire everywhere. I quickly pack up my things and jump down from the tree. I have to get back to the river, I'll be safe there.

It was perhaps a mistake to start to stray from the river, I'd just wanted a bit more security from other tributes . Apparently the gamemakers didn't like this. This is no ordinary fire, It's behaving strangely only moving to force me forwards.

Suddenly fireballs shoot out at me. "Shit!" I scream as one hits my leg. I force myself not to look at the wound, knowing it will probably make me feel sick. I run forwards, ignoring the searing pain in my leg. I have to get away.

I'm panting when I see the river, desperately I dive in. the water stings my leg but somehow sooths it. I glance behind me and see the flames die down. I sigh in relief but freeze when I hear laughter. I turn and see 5 familiar faces appear on the other side of the river.

Glimmer points at me and I start swimming needing to get to safety. I pull myself out of the river and run. I have to get away. I don't think I can out run them with this leg. I reach an unburned part of the forest and look around frantically. There has to be a tree I can climb that will be difficult for them to.

I spot a tree with thin branches, I scamper up it knowing that only Clove will be able to follow. I don't think Clove will try though. She doesn't want to hurt me and I take comfort in that. The careers and Peeta catch up to me.

Cato pursues me up the tree while the others egg him on. I look down and notice Clove and Peeta standing there in silence, Clove is holding a knife while Peeta just clutches the straps of his backpack. I reach a thicker branch and settle myself on it, not able to find the energy to climb higher.

The branch Cato is holding snaps and he falls to the floor. Glimmer shoots a couple of arrow at me but they come nowhere near me I scowl down at her. That bow was meant to be mine those arrows were mine. Stop wasting my arrows! I want to scream at her.

Cato takes the bow and shoots an arrow that also misses entirely. "Why don't you throw the sword?" I shout down at him mockingly, feeling smug after seeing their pitiful archery attempts. I laugh when he screams in anger and tries to climb the tree again only to fall once again.

"Wouldn't do you much good up there 12." The boy from 1 shouts "What are you coward? Why don't you come down and face us?" I laugh and shake my head, does he really think I'm stupid enough to fall for a taunt like that?

"Come on guys, why don't we wait her out?" I hear Peeta say and I glare down at him, Clove nods in agreement and whispers something I don't pick up

"Hear that 12, you can either come down and face us or starve to death. You're going to starve to death up there!" The boy from one shouts gleefully. I shrug

"I think I'll take my chances up here 1." I shout back and I can see I've annoyed him. He wanders off with Peeta to collect fire wood and I decide it would probably be a good idea to check my wound.

I gingerly pull the burnt material away from the burn. I bare my teeth when I see it feeling sick. This isn't going to heal on its own. I pull my water bottle out and pour some water onto it, hoping that it will look better if I clean it. I let out a hiss as the cold water stings my burn.

I glance down and see that the careers have started a fire. I shudder at the memory of the fire that caused my leg wound and almost throw up. I look back down at them and see that they've decided to get some sleep. Cato is sitting there keeping watch so I can't climb down the tree and disappear. Not that I'd get far anyway.

I sigh and decide to follow suit, I didn't get much sleep the night before anyway and it's not like I can go anywhere. I awake when I hear a beeping sound. I glance around hoping that the careers aren't trying anything. I spot a silver parachute. I lands in the branches just above me and I realise it's for me. I have a sponsor.

Carefully I climb up to the branch and retrieve the contents of the capsule. Once I've made it back to my branch I have a look at it. It is a silver pot with a picture of fire on the lid I open it up to find a thick white salve inside. Grinning I rub a generous amount on my wound, sighing in relief as the pain disappears. I lean back against the tree.

"Thank you." I whisper hoping that whoever sponsored me is watching and hears my thanks. I wonder what made the person sponsor me, I wonder if it had anything to do with me taunting the careers, I suppose that took guts but I only did it because I was sitting up a tree out of their reach. I shrug and nibble at the remainder of the dried beef strips from my pack.

"Psst." I glance up wondering what made that sound. I spot a dark faced girl staring at me from the tree next to me. She waves at me and I cautiously wave back not sure what to make of the girl. She points to a few branches above me.

I look up and see something gulp. A few branches above me is a tracker jacker nest. I bite my lip. I knew what tracker jackers could do. I glance around looking for a way out of this tree but then an idea strikes me.

I glance down at the careers to find them all fast asleep and then back up at the nest. The nest is hanging over the careers on a thin branch. I could drop the nest onto them and escape, maybe even obtain the bow and arrows.

I look back down at the careers and spot Clove sleeping soundly. I can't do that to her. I can't hurt her. I frown and think for a moment, what if I warned her somehow. I sigh quietly fiddle with a small branch next to me. A twig snaps off in my hand and I look down at it. That's it!

Aiming carefully I throw the twig down to Clove, the wind catches it and it misses completely. I clench my teeth and snap another twig off. It takes a few tries but eventually one lands on her head. She sits up abruptly, clutching a knife in her hand. She looks around confused and I throw another twig at her, glad when it lands in her hair.

I watch as she reaches up and plucks it out of her hair. She looks up and I can't help but grin. I point to the tracker jacker nest above me and signal what I'm going to do. She seems surprised by my idea but I take no notice, signalling that she should get out of there I start climbing up the tree.

My leg still twinges a bit but it's much easier to climb the tree now I've put that salve on it. I reach the nest and start sawing through the branch. I feel a searing pain on my hand as one of the insects stings me. I let out a yelp and desperately hope it's not heard.

As I'm sawing the tracker jackers attack me, trying to defend their nest. One stings me on the neck and I hiss. Some crawl up my sleeves and sting me there but I ignore it. Eventually I manage to saw through the branch and the nest tumbles to the ground.

I hear someone shout something but i can't decipher what. I climb down the tree and try to concentrate everything has a strange yellowy green hue to it. I stumble over to a motionless Glimmer and see her swollen and covered in green goo. I grab the bow and quiver of arrow and run off into the forest.


	18. Chapter 18

_Clove POV:_

Glimmer points to the water. "There! Get her!" She calls. My heart stops when I see who she's pointing at, Katniss! Katniss is in the river! She looks exhausted but she pulls herself out of the river and runs. She's limping but she can still seem to run fast, although that may be adrenalin.

We pursue her. Cato and Glimmer yelling and laughing in excitement as they do. Marvel is close on their heels, I follow knowing Peeta is right behind me. I could easily over take the group and catch up to Katniss but I won't.

I pull a knife out of my vest, ready to kill anyone that catches up with her. I spot her climb a tree and Cato punches he air in celebration. "We've got her!" He shouts happily and starts climbing the tree a sword in hand.

Katniss reaches a branch high up and looks down at him, her eyes wide with fear. I grip the knife, ready to kill Cato should he get near her. "Kill her Cato! Get her!" Glimmer shrieks excitedly waving her bow in the air.

"Come on Cato! Marvel shouts in glee, I glance at him, I'm surprised he would be finding this exciting he never seemed to be that interested in killing before. Peeta and I stay silent, I'm holding my breath waiting for the opportune moment to throw my knife into Cato's back.

A branch snaps and Cato comes crashing to the ground. He lands with a thump and I hear Katniss let out a small laugh. I smirk at Cato making sure he doesn't see. Glimmer scowls at the girl up the tree and shoots a couple of arrows. I'm ready to pounce on her but her archery skills are still abysmal and she missed by a lot.

Cato angrily grabs the bow and tries to hit her with and arrow but he's even worse than Glimmer. Katniss laughs. "Why don't you throw the sword?" She taunts and Cato screams in anger, wildly he attempts to climb it but can't even get a grip on it this time.

"Wouldn't do you much good up there 12." Marvel shouts he smirks up at her. "What are you coward? Why don't you come down and face us?" He taunts, Katniss laughs and shakes her head. I'm glad everyone seems to have forgotten that I could kill her with a knife easily from this distance.

"Come on guys, why don't we wait her out?" Peeta says stepping forward hesitantly. I nod, for once grateful of his presence.

"Yeah, it's not like she's going anywhere." I whisper and Cato nods angrily. He shoots a glare up the tree.

"Hear that 12, you can either come down and face us or starve to death. You're going to starve to death up there!" Marvel laughs. Katniss shrugs.

"I think I'll take my chances up here 1." She shouts back and Marvel huffs in frustration.

"I'll go get some wood for a fire." Peeta suggest and he wander off into the woods.

"I'll help." Marvel says and he follows Peeta away from the tree. Cato sits down with his back leaning against the tree. He's angry, he even scowls at Glimmer when she attempts to snuggle up to him. I sigh and settle myself down, looking up I see Katniss examining her leg. He pulls out a bottle of water and pours some onto her leg, causing her to hiss in pain.

I can see from her expression that the injury is severe. I gulp, I know there's a first aid kit in my bag, If only I could get it to her without the others seeing. Peeta and Marvel return with some wood. The works on starting a fire and we gather around it.

We're all tired after spending the entire night walking and Glimmer suggests we get some sleep. We agree and pull out our sleeping bags. Peeta offers to take the first watch but Cato doesn't seem to like this idea.

"Going to help her are you lover boy? I'll take the first watch, then Glimmerl, then Clove, then Marvel, Understood?" He snaps and Peeta reluctantly agrees. As I lie down clutching my knife, I desperately hop Cato doesn't do anything to hurt Katniss. Hopefully He's too stupid to try to burn down the tree or something. I'm exhausted and I soon drift off to sleep.

I feel something fall onto my head and I'm immediately alert. I sit up ready to stab whoever it was that dared to touch me. I glance around. Everyone is asleep. I can see Glimmer slumped against the tree, sleeping deeply, the idiot fell asleep during her watch. I glance around as something else falls onto my head. I reach up and find a twig in my hair.

I look up to see Katniss looking down at me. She smiles and points above her head. I scan the branches above her, I spot a silver parachute indicating she got a sponsor, I desperately hope that the parachute carried medicine for her leg , I keep scanning the trees branches and freeze when I see the familiar shape of a tracker jacker nest. We'd been told about them in the training centre. We were told always to avoid a tracker jacker nest at all costs.

I search my memory for what I know about tracker jackers. There stings caused powerful hallucinations and even in extreme cases, death. My heart increases in speed, what if they stung Katniss? What if they killed her? Katniss must've seen my eyes widen because she smiles at me holding up the knife I'd thrown at her during the bloodbath.

She points to the nest again and mimes sawing through a branch she then points to the ground and throws her arms up to indicate what would happen when the nest hits the ground. I gape at her when I realise what she intends to do. She points to me and then over to the river. She wants me to flee, so I don't get stung.

I shake my head. It's too dangerous, she could be killed but she's already climbing up towards the nest, her leg seems to be much better and although I can see it's still causing her pain, whatever medicine her sponsor sent her is working . I bite my lip and she approaches the nest.

She looks over to another tree and when I follow her gaze. I spot a small girl sitting in the tree, I think she's from district 11 but I'm not sure. She's glances between me and Katniss unsurely probably wondering why Katniss would bother warning me of her plan.

Katniss begins sawing through the branch, I'm glad the knife I threw to her has a serrated edge because that should make the job easier and quicker, minimising the chances of her getting stung. She yelps as a tracker jacker stings her and I tense my eyes popping out of my skull. I glance around and am pleased the other careers are still asleep. I hope that she doesn't stung again, I don't know how many stings it takes to kill a person.

Katniss increases the speed of her sawing and another tracker jacker stings her neck. She clenches her teeth and a few tears appear but she keeps going. She's nearly done and I decide that this is probably a good time to move. I grab my pack and look up when I hear another yelp.

Cato wakes and looks up. His eyes widen when he sees what Katniss is doing. "Everybody up!" He shouts. And I start running towards the river, I hear a crash and an extremely loud buzzing noise. I resist the urge to glance back knowing this will only increase my chances of being stung.

I dive into the river with Cato close behind me. A couple of minutes later Marvel bursts out of the forest a few huge lumps on his face he falls head first into the river. Cato and I grasp his arms to pull him up, keeping his head above water.

We start to swim across the river, dragging Marvel behind us. Once we've pulled ourselves out of the river. We inspect the stings. I'm glad I got away without being stung. Cato sports a large sting on the side of his neck while Marvel has a few on his face.

"No, we have to run! We've got to get away from it!" Marvel shouts points at the tee in from of him.

I have to stop myself from laughing when I realise Marvel is starting to hallucinate. I shake my head, it's not that funny. Katniss had been stung, she was probably starting to get hallucinations right now.

I hear a cannon sound and I gasp. Katniss! I take a step towards the river and ready myself to dive in, she can't be dead, no she can't be! I'm pulled back by Cato.

"Glimmer!" He shouts. I didn't realise he cared about her. He was only stung once so his hallucinations don't seem to be as bad as Marvels. He shoves me towards Marvel. "Watch him!" He snarls at me before diving into the river.

I have to restrain Marvel from running away from the tree which I find out looks like a giant snarling dog to him. I notice Marvel has dragged most of our supplies with him but has left them on the other side of the river. I contemplate going to get them but decide against it. Marvel would probably run off if I left him.

"Mum! No, I didn't get the high score, I'm sorry!" Marvel shouts into my face and I'm taken aback for a moment before I shove him to the floor. "But I need to see her again Mum! You can't stop me from seeing her!" he screams, I desperately hope there's no other tributes nearby.

"Shut up." I say urgently, He continues mumbling about not ever seeing some girl named Luella again and I slap him. This only makes him scream louder. I sigh in frustration and glance back over the river.

I desperately hope that cannon wasn't for Katniss. She has to be alive. If she's dead then my life ends here. I fiddle with the knives on my vest wondering which one would kill me fastest if I stabbed myself in the heart.

Cato re-appears. His head is down and He scoops up the supplies on the other side of the river. I find myself relieved to see his tear stained face as well as the lack of Glimmer. He swims across to us with our supplies. Marvel screams when he sees him.

"Macaire! Spears aren't allowed outside the training centre!" He screams and Cato glares at him. He drops the supplies by my feet and grabs Marvel by the front of his jacket.

"Shut the fuck up!" He growls but Marvel keeps going, he struggles to get out of Cato's grip.

"Please don't stab me Macaire! Please don't! " Cato punches him and releases him. Marvel gasps on the ground for a moment before screaming up at the sky.

"Luella is mine you bastard!" He throws himself towards me and I'm thrown backwards at the impact of him. Cato grabs him by the scruff of the neck and smirks at him. I glare at both boys as Cato throws Marvel at a nearby tree knocking him out.

"Glimmer's dead." Cato states and I nod, letting myself feel a little bit of relief that Katniss still alive. Cato sits down and shakes his head. "Ergh my head hurts and everything is fuzzy."

"That'll be the sting on your neck." I tell him and he turns to me angrily.

"Yeah I fucking know that!" He snarls. I glare at him and turn away. I need to find Katniss I decide, I need to find out if she's alright. I hear a beeping noise and grab a knife fully prepared to fight. I spot two silver parachutes float down. One Landing by Cato and the other by Marvel. Cato grins and opens the container. He pulls out a tin that has a picture of a tracker jacker on it.

He opens it and finds it full of a clear greenish salve that he smears on his neck. The swelling instantly goes down and his eyes come into focus. He sighs and throws he container to me. "That's good stuff, use it on yours." He walks over to Marvel and opens his parachute finding a similar tin inside as well as a pill for concussion.

While he's not looking at me I stash the tin he gave me into my pocket. I didn't get stung but if I can get it to Katniss then it might help her. Cato smears the salve from Marvels tin over the stings on Marvels face.

"I guess we should wait until he wakes up to give him the pill." I say and Cato nods. I sit down next to the still unconscious Marvel. "I'm going to go see if there anything we can salvage from ourcampsite. " I tell him turning away.

"There's nothing there worth salvaging." Cato snarls. I look up and see a hover craft fly over our heads. I know it's there to retrieve Glimmer's body. Cato watches it with an unreadable expression on his face.

When the hovercraft is gone I tell Cato I'm going back to the site again and he shrugs, no longer caring what I do at the moment. I know he'll get over Glimmer's death and return to his usual self soon. I'm glad that for now he seems lost in thought. I grab my red pack and cross the river.

I'm glad all the tracker jackers have dispersed when I reach the site of Glimmer's death. I see our sleeping bags still there and I gather them up. I wonder what happened to Peeta but shrug, not really caring that much.

I walk forwards towards a bush that has a few broken branches thinking that maybe Katniss went this way. I'm walking for about half an hour until I spot the district 11 girl in a clearing. She sees me and backs away. She has nowhere to run. I smirk at her and pull out a knife.

"Where's the girl from 12?" I ask and the girl gulps her eyes going wide.

"I…I won't tell you." She stutters but I notice her eyes glance over to a log. Slowly, not taking my eyes off the girl I approach the log. Behind it I see Katniss. She looks terrible, her hands and neck are swollen and her eyes are closed.

"Katniss!" I gasp kneeling down beside her. I drop my knife and brush some hair out of her face. I notice a bow and quiver next to her covered in blood. I hope the blood belonged to Glimmer and not her.

I pull the salve out of my pocket and the girl from 11 approaches me cautiously. "W…What are you doing?" She asks defiantly. I glare at her and tell her it's none of her business. She quickly picks up a knife that I recognise as the one Katniss had, she'd obviously dropped it. "I'll … I'll kill you! If you hurt her!" She says and I roll my eyes.

"I'm not going to hurt her." I say as I start applying the salve. The girl seems to relax when she sees the swelling disappear. "Why is she unconscious?" I ask the girl, that amount of stings shouldn't make her unconscious, Marvel had more than that and he'd been conscious until Cato threw him against a tree.

"She got stung a lot…they went up her sleeves." The girl from 11 tells me and I curse. Gently I roll up her sleeves to find her arms covered in stings.

"Oh Katniss… " I whisper placing my hand on her cheek. Why did she have to do that? I hate seeing her hurt, I should have just killed my so called allies in order to allow her to escape, this is partially my fault. I gently smear the remainder of the salve on the stings but I don't have enough to fully get rid of all the swelling. I move her head onto my lap and stroke her forehead not wanting to leave her just yet

"She warned you about what she was going to do…" The girl says slowly and I nod at her. "Why'd she do that?" I snort and roll my eyes not wanting to have this conversation. The girl stares at me for a moment. "I'm Rue by the way. District 11 "

"Clove, District 2." I grunt. Rue nods.

"I know who you are, you're a career, everyone knows who the careers are." She says and I snort. Rue takes a couple of hesitant steps forward and I tense ready to throw a knife through her heart if she does anything stupid. "So you're friends with Katniss?" She asks and I can't help but laugh.

"You could say that I suppose." I smirk at Rue who smiles unsurely back.

"You gave her the medicine but it didn't work fully." She says slowly, I nod, is this girl stupid? I wonder why she keeps stating the obvious and wish she'd just shut up.

"There wasn't enough and unless she gets a good sponsor she probably won't be able to get anymore. It takes the worst off I suppose." I stare at her slightly swollen arms, wishing I could go and steal the pot that was given to Marvel. My eyes travel over the distinct scars marring her flesh, I can't see any fresh wounds and I'm glad that it looks like she hasn't hurt herself since the train ride to the Capitol.

"I know a plant that can help. " Rue says, I turn to her only to see her back away into the forest. I wait for a moment and Rue returns carrying a bunch of leaves. "Back home we get a lot of tracker jackers in the trees, a lot of people get stung and everyone is taught that these leaves help draw out poisons." I nod slowly and allow the girl to approach. I'm not sure why, but I trust this girl, I don't think she'll do anything to harm Katniss.

"I wonder what gave her all those scars." She says absentmindedly as she examines the stings on Katniss's arms, I growl in irritation.

"That's none of your business." I snap and Rue looks at me curiously. I'm irritated that she drew attention to them, I can just imagine the cameras around us zooming in on her arms, trying to show the audience what Rue was talking about.

Rue places the leaves on Katniss's arms and admires her handwork. "That should do it, the leaves will need to be changed daily though until she wakes up."

I gently place Katniss's head on her backpack and stand up. "I need to return to the careers. Can I trust you to look after her?" I ask, Rue nods slowly, she stares at me twiddling her thumbs anxiously.

"Why do you care about her so much?" She asks and I glare at her.

"That is another thing that's none of your business." I growl and Rue takes a step back. I pick up my knife and put it back in its place. My expression softens a bit when I see Rue looking at me with fear in her eyes. "I like her, that's all you need to know."

I stroll off, wishing that I could stay and guard Katniss. I've been gone a few hours and Cato will be starting to wonder where I am. I can't leave the Careers yet, there's still too much competition to take out.

When I return to the spot I left Cato and Marvel I find Peeta there. Cato has Peeta in a headlock while Marvel, now conscious, leans against a tree. "You knew she'd do that didn't you?" Cato snarls at Peeta.

Peeta is thrown to the floor and Cato leers over him. "Where were you when she dropped the nest? I bet she warned you, didn't want her boyfriend getting hurt. Well you were stupid to come back to us." Cato laughs and pulls out his sword. He slashes at Peeta's leg. "There that should give you enough time to mull over your stupidity until you eventually die."

Cato grins and turns to me. "You were gone a while." He states dangerously.

"Went looking for her." I tell him truthfully, he nods knowing exactly who I mean. He doesn't need to know that I went looking for her to heal her and that I found her. I look over at Peeta who's wining on the floor. Serves him right, I contemplate throwing a knife through his head but think better of it.

"What now?" Marvel asks and Cato gathers up a couple of backpacks.

"We go back to the Cornucopia." He snarls. Marvel nods and stands, it seems he's taken his concussion pill and is fully healthy again, he grabs the remaining two packs and follows Cato. I glance over to Peeta, sending a smirk his way. I'm glad he has to suffer, he betrayed Katniss by helping us find her, he deserves it. I turn and trail after Cato and Marvel.


	19. Chapter 19

_Katniss POV:_

I awake with a start and sit up. The world around me spins and I find myself falling back down again. I squint, trying to focus my eyes and ignore the dull ache in my head. Placing my hand on my forehead I notice some leaves on my arms.

I slowly sit up and squint at them. My backpack lies next to me and I reach for it, I notice the bow and quiver full of arrows near me and the events that got me here flash through my head. I blink. Was Clove ok? I bite my lip in worry hoping she'd had the sense to flee from the tracker jackers before they hit the ground.

I find my water bottle still attached to my belt and I'm pleased to find it half full, I gratefully take a swig. The water seems to clear my head and I look around at my surroundings. It's then that I hear a rustle and spot a small dark shape dart behind a tree.

Frowning I stand up, grabbing the bow and nocking an arrow as I do. I cautiously approach the tree and look behind it. A small girl looks up at me fearfully and I lower my bow. I recognise this girl as the female tribute from District 11.

I glance between her and the leaves on my arms. She helped me? Why? "Hey." I say to her and she jumps.

"Hey." She says fearfully. I retreat to the log I woke up by, indicating she should follow me. She stays put and I sigh.

"You know…The Careers aren't the only ones who can form an alliance." This brings the girl out from behind the tree.

"You want an alliance with me?" She asks in wonder and I grin at her, something about this girl reminds me of Prim, perhaps it's the innocence about her or the fact she's probably about the same age.

"If you want." I say and she grins at me taking a few steps towards me.

"I'm Rue, from District 11." She tells me and I nod.

"And I'm Katniss from 12." Slowly I remove the leaves on my arms and pull my sleeves down, hoping that Rue doesn't notice my scars. Rue sits down next to me and I'm conscious of her eyes on me. "How long was I out?" I wonder out loud .

"2 days, I changed your leaves twice." She tells me. I nod and thank her once more.

"Thank you." I say sincerely, causing her to look away shyly. "What happened while I was out?"

"The girl from 1 and the boy from 10." Rue answers, knowing exactly what I meant. I nod slowly thinking about how the death of the girl from 1, Glimmer, was my fault. I killed her, of course I didn't directly kill her but it's my fault she died. I bite my lip, not sure how I feel about this, I killed someone, a person, a person with friends and family, with hopes and fears just like myself. I shake my head to clear it. It wouldn't do to think too much about this I know it will only serve to upset me.

"The girl from 2 visited." Rue says suddenly and I turn to her, my eyes wide. Clove was here? Is she alright? Is she still here? I glance around hoping to see her face appear from behind the trees. "She went back to the Careers." Rue tells me and I slump my shoulders, looking down at the ground I wish I could see her again, I wish she were here right now.

My disappointment must be obvious because when I look back to Rue I see her looking at me speculatively. "She gave you medicine for the tracker jacker stings, but it wasn't' enough for all of them so I had to use the leaves too."

Clove had medicine for tracker jackers? I wonder if she got it from the cornucopia or if a sponsor sent it to her. If a sponsor sent it to her then surely she has been stung, what if she needed that medicine that she'd used on me? What if she's unconscious somewhere?

"Was she stung?" I ask anxiously and I'm relieved when Rue shakes her head.

"I saw her run away before the nest hit the ground."

I sigh in relief, she's ok that's all that matters. Rue stares at me for a while before speaking again.

"She cares about you." Rue states and I nod slowly, a warm feeling fills my chest at that thought, Clove cares about me, she loves me like I love her. I smile at that thought. "And you care about her?"

"Yeah." I say unable to keep the grin off my face. I wonder what Haymitch is thinking right now. He's probably really angry with me, after all he told me to stay away from her and I blatantly ignored his advice. We're silent for a while as Rue seems to take this in.

"I scouted the area while you were asleep. " She tells me and I nod. "The careers have gone back to the cornucopia and the boy from 3 has joined them." I frown as I try to remember who the boy from 3 is. No name or face springs to mind. I suppose he kept to himself during training.

My mind wanders to Peeta, I wonder if he's still with the careers or if he's wandered off on his own. "What about the boy from my district?" I ask casually.

"I think he' s down by the river." Rue tells me. "Is it true?" I frown and turn to her in confusion.

"Is what true?" I ask and she grins at me.

"That he likes you?" She asks mischievously. I shrug.

"He said so in his interview, I don't know though, he teamed up with the careers. " I mutter, I scowl at the tree in front of me as I remember how he told the entire country that he was in love with me. Teaming up with the careers showed that he was just using it as a way to get sponsors. Well that's probably backfired now.

"You don't like him back do you?" Rue asks and I snort, Haymitch wanted us to play the star crossed lovers thing but I can't. Even if it's just pretend, I can't.

"No." I say harshly. I imagine Haymitch shouting at the television screen, cursing me for not playing along with this. I purse my lips wondering if it will lose me sponsors before deciding it doesn't matter, I'm going to die here anyway.

Rue nods in understanding and starts to tell me how the careers have placed all their supplies in a pile near the cornucopia and are guarding them viscously.

I decide to go hunt for some food and manage to bring down a grosling. As I cook it Rue tells me about her district. District 11 grows most of the food for the Capitol and Rue tells me she worked in the orchards. She tells me about how she is the best climber in her district and is able to climb higher in the tress than anyone else.

I start to tell her about District 12, I avoid telling her about my illegal hunting activities in the surrounding forest and of the Hob which is the black market back home as I don't want to Capitol to know about those things in case they try to destroy the Hob and fix he fence. Many people rely on the hob and I know Gale relies on the forest for survival.

Rue points to the mockingjay pin that's attached to my jacket. "Do you have many mockingjays in your district?" She asks and I shrug.

"I think they mostly live in the surrounding forest, my father used to take me to the field by the fence to collect dandelion leaves, if he sung then we could hear the mockingjays carry the song out into the forest." I close my eyes as I remember the time when I was very young and my father wouldn't yet take me beyond the fence because it was too dangerous but he took me to the field which was just inside the fence.

"Your father must have a good voice, mockingjays can be fussy about whose songs they copy."

"He did." I whisper ignoring the tears that sting my eyes, I turn away not wanting her to see me cry.

"Did?"

"He… Died… When I was 11." I examine the grosling and decide it looks cooked so I take it off the fire.

"I'm sorry." Rue says but I shrug not wanting to talk about this anymore. I hand her a grosling leg and she takes it.

"I've never had a full leg to myself before!" She exclaims and I can't help but smile.

"Do you want mine too?" I ask and she shakes her head shyly but I can see from the way she looks at it she does. I grin and hand it to her. "Here." She grins and me and thanks me. I cut away a bit of meat from the rest of the gosling and eat it quickly.

Once we've finished eating we decide to show each other what we have been carrying in our packs. Rue only has a small bottle of water and a spare pair of sock in her bag. She seems surprised by my sleeping bag. "How have you been keeping warm at night?" I ask, the nights got freezing and it was only my sleeping bag that kept me warm, Rue shrugs and shows me the socks, telling me that at night she put them on her hands.

Rue picks up the pair of sunglasses "Wow you got some night vision glasses!" She says. I blink in confusion.

"Night vision glasses? I thought they were sunglasses."

Rue shakes her head and tells me that during the harvest in her district they often work well after the sun has gone down and use night vision glasses to see. She then shows me how they work.

We decide to start moving and we find a pool of water where we can refill our water bottles. When night falls we climb up a tree and I offer to share my sleeping bag. Rue snuggles close to me and I can't help but be reminded again of Prim. I wonder how she's doing, if my mother is looking after her, if Gale is bringing meat to them.

Rue sleepily touches my mockingjay pin. "When I saw your pin I knew I could trust you." She yawns and I watch her in the darkness wondering why my pin would make me trustworthy. It's just a pin after all even if it does have a mockingjay on it. I'm about to ask why the pin made her trust me but I realise she's asleep. I close my eyes deciding to follow suit and get some sleep.


	20. Chapter 20

_Clove POV:_

We stop for the night on our way back to the cornucopia. I start a fire and sit around it in silence. Eventually Cato says he's going to get some sleep and Marvel is to take the first watch, followed by me and then him.

We agree and Marvel leans against a tree. I set out my sleeping bag but don't feel like sleeping just yet. I sigh and sit down next to Marvel who looks at me questioningly.

"You should get some sleep." He says and but I shake my head.

"Not yet." I say and he nods.

"Nightmares?" He asks and I glare at him. I'd been really careful during the games making sure to stuff part of the sleeping bag into my mouth so as not to make a sound during my nightly ordeals. He watches me questioningly and I turn away.

"Who's Luella?" I ask, remembering the name of the girl he was hallucinating about after the tracker jacker incident. I'm hoping to annoy him, to make him realise that some things are too private to talk about.

"My ex-girlfriend." He tells me and I look at him in surprise. I raise an eyebrow at him and he smiles at me.

"What about Macaire?" I ask mockingly but he just laughs shaking his head.

"The boy who stole Luella from me." He shakes his head and looks up thoughtfully. "They're both dead now though." He glances at me, I stare at him, surprised he's decided to tell me this. "Luella was the girl who volunteered last year, Macaire volunteered a couple of years before that, they both lost."

I nod slowly and think back to the previous games I'd been forced to watch as watching the games was compulsory. I cannot remember what this Maciare looked like but I remember the girl from last year. A tall, thin girl with blond hair much like Glimmer's. She'd almost won but had been killed by the boy from my district in the last few moments of the games.

We sit in silence for a while longer until Marvel suggests again that I get some sleep. I reluctantly agree, I need to sleep. Marvel wakes me a few hours later and I take my place by the tree, glad that I haven't had any nightmares.

I sit there listening to the night. A breeze blows and I shiver, it's cold but I don't mind, the cold keeps me awake. The fire has burned down so I'm sitting in complete darkness, I keep a torch near me in case I need it but otherwise rely on my ears.

The forest makes some strange noises at night, I jump when I hear a twig snap, I grab one of my knives and turn my torch on pointing it to the source of the sound. A racoon looks up at me startled before scampering into the darkness. I sigh forcing myself to relax, just a harmless animal I tell myself.

After a few hours I decide to wake Cato so he can take over keeping watch. I shake his shoulder and his eyes snap open. "Hey Cato, your watch." I whisper, in the torchlight I see him smirk at me. He grabs me and pulls me close to him.

"Why don't we have a bit of fun first eh?" He growls in my ear, I scowl, how dare he touch me, I grab a knife and hold it to his throat.

"Let go Cato." I say harshly, he smirks at me for a second longer before releasing me. He saunters over to a tree carrying his sword and a torch with him. I make my way back to my sleeping bag furious at him for daring to touch me.

I turn my torch off and glare at where I know he is in the darkness. It didn't take him long to get over Glimmer I note. I clutch a knife, making sure I'm ready to slash the throat of anyone who dare touch me while I lie here in the darkness. Eventually I drift off to sleep.

The next day we make it back to the cornucopia. Cato notices that our some of our supplies have been taken and screams in rage. I roll my eyes, we still have plenty of supplies and surely it was obvious we may lose some when we went 'hunting' for Katniss.

Cato and Marvel decide to go look around the outskirts of the clearing while I stay and guard the supplies. Moments after they've left I hear a scream and I smirk, waiting for the cannon that will signify the death of the tribute Cato and Marvel have found.

I'm disappointed when after minutes nothing happens. Eventually I see Cato and Marvel approaching me dragging a small boy behind them. They throw the boy to the ground and he looks up at me fearfully.

"What's going on? Why didn't you just kill him?" I ask, I look between Cato and Marvel . Cato is smirking and evil glint in his eye while Marvel just looks bored.

"This brat has stolen from us." Cato snaps, I shrug, why doesn't Cato just kill him already?

"So kill him and take back what he stole." I say but Marvel shakes his head.

"He's from District 3." Marvel informs me and I raise an eyebrow at him, not seeing the significance.

"So?"

Cato laughs and slaps me on the back causing me to glare at him.

"Marvel has a brilliant plan." He hisses, he points to the quivering boy on the floor. "Grandis here is from District 3, he knows how to reset mines."

I raise an eyebrow as their stupid plan becomes obvious. "So you plan to reset the mines to protect the supplies? What about when we want to get the supplies?" Cato frowns in confusion.

He turns to the boy and picks him up by the front of his jacket. "Well maybe you're not so useful after all." He spits and I can see him about to snap the young boys neck before Marvel stops him.

"We don't need the mines to be all around the supplies, we leave a way to get to them, but anyone who wants to steal from us won't know how." Marvel says slowly, Cato nods slowly and throws the boy to the ground.

"We need shovels." Cato says realising there's none in the cornucopia. A few minutes later a familiar beeping sounds about our head and 2 silver parachutes float down from the sky. Each parachute has a sturdy shovel attached to it and Cato grins. He throws a shovel to me and the District 3 boy. "Well start digging up the mines, Marvel you help me move the stuff into a pile."

I get to work on digging up the mines the boy hurriedly follows me. "W...What's your name?" He asks and I glare at him.

"Clove." I snap not particularly wanting to converse with the boy. He nods slowly and gets to work.

"I'm Grandis." He says shortly and I nod, remembering that was the name Cato called him earlier. It's hard work but eventually we get the mines dug up. Marvel and Cato have placed the supplies in a pile.

Marvel takes the shovel off me and starts to dig small pits, indicating where he wants each mine to be. Cato instructs Grandis to work on the mines while Marvel and I dig the holes for the mines. Grandis tells us how deep each holes should be.

Once we've placed and buried all of the mines it's night time. We set up camp underneath the shelter of the cornucopia. Cato has decided to keep Grandis alive for now, saying he may be useful to keep watch.

Cato takes the first watch and I settle down in my sleeping bag. I wonder how Katniss is doing. I wonder if she's conscious yet and if she's not if that girl, Rue is still looking after her. I sigh, turning over, wishing I could go find her and stay with her, to make sure she stays safe. I close my eyes.

I see Katniss lying by the log I'd left her by. Rue is standing over her with a knife. She looks up at me and smirks a Cato-like smirk. In slow motion she crouches down and slices Katniss's neck open. I gasp I can't move and when I look down I see I being restrained by the familiar arms of my father. I hear my father laugh cruelly at my helplessness.

I twist my way free and run over to the motionless body of Katniss, Blood flows freely from her neck and I desperately try to stop it, knowing it's useless, "No," I whisper helplessly. Anger fills me and I grab a knife from my vest. I look up to find Rue is no longer standing there but Cato. He holds the bloodied knife and smirks at me.

"Come on Clove, how about we have some fun." He says cruelly but it comes out in my father's voice. I throw my knife at him and it passes though he head as if it were made of smoke. I look down to Katniss to find her gone, in her place is a large hole, shaped like a grave.

Cato picks me up and slams me into the grave. The walls start to cave in and I hear Katniss's laugh. I punch my way through the dirt and sit up only to find Katniss laughing at me. Peeta appears from between some trees, I look at his leg expecting to see the cut Cato put there but he is completely unharmed Katniss sends him a goofy grin, the same grin she sometimes sends me, the grin I'd never seen her give to anyone.

Peeta sweeps the girl I love into his arms and presses his lips against hers. She kisses him back in earnest and I see red. No she said she loved me! She loves me not him. I throw knife after knife at Peeta's head but they all fly through him.

Eventually one of my knives imbeds itself in Katniss's shoulder. No! Peeta smirks at me and backs away into the forest disappearing. I run over to Katniss, she looks at me with hurt and confusion in her eyes. "Clove, how could you?" She asks , I try to apologise, to tell her it was an accident but nothing comes out of my mouth. "I hate you Clove, you should go run to Cato." She snarls and each word feels like a dagger through my chest.

I'm pulled away from her and swivelled around. Cato presses his lips to mine and grinds up against me. I try to shove him off but I can't. He reaches underneath my shirt with one hand and pulls my trousers down with the other.

My eyes snap open and I sit up, glancing around I see that I'm in the Cornucopia. I sigh and scrunch my eyes shut. Just a nightmare, I tell myself, it wasn't real. I look towards the mouth of the Cornucopia to see Marvel watching me knowingly. I nod to him, trying to look nonchalant.

I stretch and extract myself form the sleeping bag. I head over to where Marvel is keeping watch and sit next to him. It's raining slightly and I shiver, I notice someone has set out empty water containers to collect the rain.

"Hey." Marvel says after a while. I don't reply and gaze out at the clearing, I wonder what Katniss is doing, If she's still unconscious I wonder if Rue has managed to shelter her. Marvel seems undaunted by my silence he nods towards the water containers that are being filled up with rain. "The district 3 boy's idea." He mutters and I nod, not really caring who's idea it was.

Marvel seems to realise I don't want to talk and he turns away from me. We sit in silence for a while., before I decide to break it.

"You can get some sleep if you want." I murmur, he glances at me and shakes his head but I notice him look longingly over at his sleeping bag. I shrug not really caring what he does, I find I don't mind his company, he's not like Cato, I don't' have to worry about him trying anything and he seems to understand when I don't feel like talking.

Marvel eventually retreats to his sleeping bag and I'm left alone. My thoughts turn to Katniss, I miss her. As I remember the things she'd said in my nightmare my heart aches. I swallow trying to keep my expression blank. She didn't' really say those things, she loves me. I know this but I still feel the need to hear her tell me so again.

I sit and watch as the sun begins to rise. The rain stops and I'm glad of it. I check the bottles and find most of them almost full. The others begin to wake up. Cato strolls outside and stretches, I glare at him, wishing I could kill him.

It wouldn't do to kill him now I decide, I'm not sure what Marvel would do and as much as I know I'll kill him if I have to I don't really want to be the one to do so. He's a nice enough guy and I guess we've sort of become friends. I never really had any friends in District 2.

I shake my head, Marvel is not my friend , I tell myself, he's just my ally. I scowl, staring off into the distance. Marvel gets up and stretches. He looks around the clearing and suggests we set some traps around the outskirts in case any tributes try to come near to the cornucopia.

We agree and after a quick breakfast set up some snare. I'm not much help since, I'm terrible with snares but Marvel and Grandis seem to be alright at them. This means I'm left with Cato to guard our supplies. I scowl at Cato and practice my knife throwing skills against an empty crate we left out of the pile. Trying to show him I'm armed and ready to fight so if he tries anything he'll end up like that crate.


	21. Chapter 21

_Katniss POV:_

Rue wakes me and I'm startled at first until I remember the alliance I formed with her the day before. I smile at her and pull myself out of the sleeping bag. We eat a quick breakfast of left over grosling and some edible berries Rue finds nearby.

"The careers are lucky they have all the supplies, I bet they don't know how to hunt and what plants are edible." Rue says, grinning at me as she enjoys small meal we share. I nod in agreement, if the careers didn't have the supplies then they would probably starve to death. I shudder at the thought of Clove starving but she if she joined Rue and I then she would be in no danger of starving. I turn to Rue. An idea strikes me suddenly.

"You said yesterday they have all their supplies in a big pile?" I ask Rue, she nods hesitantly. "That sounds tempting. " I say to her and she looks at me in confusion. I tell her about my idea to destroy the supplies and then ask Clove to join us. She seems hesitant about having a career in our alliance but I tell her that we can trust Clove. She agrees hesitantly.

We work together, building piles of wood and leaves that we plan to set on fire. The smoke should draw the careers away and hopefully keep Clove safe from however I decide to destroy the supplies. I tell Rue to light the piles on fire. There are 10 piles in total each a few minutes run away from each other, that should give me enough time to figure out a plan.

"We should have a signal, in case we get held up." Rue says and I ask her what she suggests, she thinks for a moment before glancing at my mockingjay pin. She sings a few notes and mockingjays in the area pick it up, taking it through the forest. "There if you hear that it means I'm fine and I'll be back soon."

I nod and sing a few notes back. I'm pleased the mockingjays pick up my tune and Rue grins, "You have a nice voice." Suddenly she throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around my waist in a hug, I hug her back tightly. "Be back soon Katniss." She whispers before running off to light the first fire.

I watch her go, she reminds me so much of Prim, I smile at the thought before making my way towards the cornucopia. I see the supplies piled up in the middle of the clearing. I frown when I see the fresh earth surrounding it indicating the ground around it had been dug up recently.

The Careers and the boy from 3 sit underneath the cornucopia, Cato stands up suddenly and points into the distance. I glance over and see the smoke of our first fire. The boy from 1 stands up and Clove follows him. Cato turns to the boy from 3 and says something to him, he nods and Cato, Clove and the boy from 1 run off towards the smoke.

I squint examining the situation. The boy from 3 clutches a spear and looks around unsurely as if expecting someone to spring out behind him. I look back to the freshly dug earth trying to figure out what they've done.

Suddenly a red haired girl springs out of the trees, I recognise her as the girl from District 5. I had nicknamed her Foxface when I saw her in the training room because she seems to be as sly and elusive as a fox. Foxface jumps around the freshly dug earth, only standing on certain areas.

She reaches the supplies pile and grabs some food before running off, The boy from 3 sees her and chases her. I frown in confusion, my eyes are drawn to the pedestals that we had to stand on before the games started. Freshly dug earth surrounds them too and I realise that they've moved the land mines and reset them. That probably explains why they allied with the boy from 3.

I notice a bag of apples hanging from the supplies pile. I slowly reach for an arrow and nock it. I shoot and miss, I try again 3 more times only hitting the bag rather than ripping it like I wanted to. My 5th arrow rips the bag and the apples tumble out.

As the apples hit the floor the explosion is instant. I'm blown back slightly and my ears start to ring. I cough and open my eyes, I quickly retreat behind a bush as the Careers return to the Cornucopia. Cato grabs the boy from 3 and shouts at him but I can't hear anything besides the ringing in my ears. I watch as Cato viciously snaps the boys neck. I notice the Boy from 1 is nowhere to be seen and Clove stands off to the side staring at the decimated pile with an unreadable expression.

I turn and sneak away, as I move my hearing slowly comes back and I'm glad of this. I reach the last fire to find it hasn't been lit. I look around urgently. Where's Rue? I sing a few notes that the mockingjays pick up, desperately hoping to hear a reply.

"Katniss!" I hear a cry and I dash towards the sound. Rue is hanging from a tree in a net. I rush towards her cutting her down. I hug her tightly, glad that she's ok. I scrunch my eyes shut and when I open them I see the boy from 1 a few metres away from me.

I push Rue away from me and nock an arrow just as the boy throws his spear. I release the arrow and hit him straight in the neck. He splutters on the floor for a moment before becoming still, the cannon tells me he's dead. I turn to Rue and see her lying on the ground. No! I kneel down beside her and she pulls the spear out of her stomach.

"Rue…It'll…It'll be ok." I whisper trying desperately to stop the bleeding, she shakes her head, she knows it's hopeless. She reaches for my hand and I grip it tightly.

"Will you sing?" She asks and I nod, starting to sing the lullaby that I used to sing to Prim. When I finish the song Rue lets out a long breath and becomes very still. A cannon sounds in the distance. I can't stop the tears as I realise she's dead. I scrunch my eyes shut and cry over her body.

She was only 12! She shouldn't have died! She shouldn't have even been here! I open my eyes and stare into her lifeless eyes for a moment. Gently I close her eyes, I notice some white wild flowers a short distance away and wander over to them. I gather as many as I can and set them around her.

I don't know how long it takes me but I don't stop until Rue is lying on a bed of flowers and is holding a bouquet. I press my middle three fingers to my lips and then hold them into the air, giving her my districts sign of respect.

I turn and stroll away, desperate to get as much distance away from the body as I can. I come to a pool of water and I frantically scrub Rue's blood from my hands, a sob escapes me and soon I'm crying hysterically. I need to calm down, It's not good to be this loud.

I can barely breath as I curl up into a ball letting my emotions take over, I can't do this anymore, I just can't! I reach for my knife, I need relief, I need control. I pull up my sleeves and draw the knife along my arm.

My arm stings as the blood start to flow out of the wound. I raise the knife and add another line to my am and then another. When I raise my knife to add a fourth line a hands shoots out grabbing my wrist, stopping me from lowering the knife to harm myself further.

I struggle against the person who's stopping me from getting the relief I need. "Katniss, stop this. Please!" I blink at the sound of a familiar voice, pleading with me. I look up into Clove's face, Her eyes are filled with pain. I drop the knife at the sight of her and suddenly find myself being pulled into her arms.

"It's ok." She whispers as I start to sob uncontrollably into her shoulder. "It's ok." She says again but I can no longer control myself. I can't breathe, it hurts so much. I feel Clove getting agitated. "Please Katniss, it's not safe, if we're discovered…." But I can't stop, I can't be silent. I know that I'm putting her in danger but I can't stifle my sobs.

"I'm..S…Sorry." I choke out when I fail at keeping silent, Clove tightens her hold on me.

"Shh, it's ok." I feel her kiss my head and I melt into her.

I'm not sure how long it takes me to calm down. but eventually my sobs fade. I take a shuddering breath and keep my eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of being so close to Clove. She gently pushes me away and looks me in the eyes.

I stare into her beautiful green eyes and before I can stop myself lean in to kiss her. Wanting my lips on hers. She kisses me back, briefly I wonder what Haymitch is making of this, I wonder if he's angry at me but soon find myself getting lost in the feeling of Clove's lips on mine.

Clove pulls away first she smiles at me slightly but I can't seem to return it. She looks down and see's my arm. "Katniss!" She exclaims and I look down, I feel slightly sick at what I see. It's not too bad really, but it's a lot worse than what I usually do. I look back to Clove to see tears in her eyes and I instantly feel guilty.

"I'm sorry." I whisper but Clove shakes her head, she places a kiss on my forehead.

"Don't be." She says, she reaches for a bottle of water at her belt and I suddenly realise she has nothing on her but that bottle. Her bag is gone and so is her vest of knives. Clove puts some water on my wounds and I hiss as it causes the sting to increase slightly. "Sorry, we've got to keep them clean." Clove murmurs and I nod slowly.

"We? Aren't you going back to Cato?" I ask and I'm pleased when she shakes her head.

"Marvel's dead, I don't want to be alone with him." She says, she places a hand on my cheek. "Besides, you need me right now." She whispers and I nod, leaning into her touch.

"Marvel was the boy from 1?" I ask and Clove nods, I notice a slight sadness in her eyes. Marvel killed Rue and I killed him, I feel a stab of guilt at this thought. I was just defending myself and trying to protect Rue I tell myself but it doesn't help.

"He killed Rue…" I whisper and Clove nods, I try to tell her that I killed him, to tell her I'm sorry but I can't seem to get my mouth to work.

"And you killed him." She says knowingly, I nod slowly, avoiding looking her in the eyes.

"I'm sorry." I whisper, Clove reaches for my hands and squeezes it slightly.

"You did what you had to." She murmurs and when I look at her I'm glad to see she's not angry or upset with me. I smile slightly and she grins at me. "You're prettier when you smile." She whispers before kissing me. I return the kiss eagerly, she pulls and away and I can't help but be a little disappointed.

"We should keep moving." She says standing up. I nod and follow suit gathering up my things as I do so. I pull down my sleeve, hoping to protect the cuts from infection, I wish I had a bandage but I'll have to make do with just keeping my sleeve down.

"What happened to your bag and knives?" I ask, she tenses and sighs.

"When Cato discovered Marvel was dead he decided he wanted to… Have some fun." She looks away, "He got my knife vest and bag off me before I got away. I guess Cato has them now."

I scowl angrily at a tree, wishing I could kill Cato right now. How dare he try that again. I will not let him harm Clove in any way. "We'll get them back." I state . Clove rolls her eyes playfully.

"It doesn't matter, come on let's get moving." She starts walking towards the river. I run to catch up with her, walking close to her, glad that she's here with me now.


	22. Chapter 22

_Clove POV:_

A cannon sounds in the distance followed shortly by a second cannon. I bite my lip, hoping desperately that one of those wasn't for Katniss. Cato is screaming at the remains of our supplies. I watch him unsurely, wondering if I can slip off unnoticed and find Katniss. I'm terrified one of those cannon signified her death.

I spot an arrow on the ground. Katniss was here? Katniss was responsible for this? I bite my lip, this increases the chances that one of the cannons was for her. Cato turns to me. "Marvel should be back by now." He growls, a smirk spreads across his face. "The mines were his idea and it cost us the supplies, he will pay, if he's not already dead."

Cato stalks off into the forest and I follow him. We find two dead bodies a short way away. Cato storms over to the larger one and spits in his face. "Lucky bastard, if I'd got my hands on him his death would've hurt a lot more."

I approach the smaller body, it's covered in flowers. I look down at the small girl that I recognise as Rue. Relief fills me when I realise Katniss is still alive. It's a shame the young girl had to die but I suppose she would've had to die at some point.

I look at the wild flowers surrounding her, something tells me Katniss was here, I don't think any other tribute would do that. I walk over to Marvel and look down at his motionless face. I kneel down and close his eyes. I notice the arrow protruding from his neck, Katniss did this.

I stare at the motionless face for a moment, I'm not sure what I feel about this. He had to die but, he was my friend. No matter how much I tell myself he wasn't and that I cared nothing for him I know it is a lie.

"Goodbye Marvel." I whisper. I hear a thud and turn to see Cato kicking Rue's body. I scowl at him. "Stop that." I snap and he turns to me.

"She blew up our supplies!" He growls.

"But she's dead now, she can't do anything to us now." I say slowly, he scowls at me.

"But someone helped her!" he points to the flowers, "The flowers didn't fucking walk over to her body!" He strides over to Marvel and snaps the end of the arrow off. "Lover girl, she did this." He glares at the arrow for a moment before throwing it away.

I watch as Cato turns his gaze to me. I stand, feeling vulnerable kneeling on the floor by Marvel's dead body. "I'll kill her, I'll make her pay. She blew up our supplies, she killed Glimmer!" He viscously punches a tree.

I watch him cautiously. He suddenly grabs my arms and drags me away. I struggle to get out of his grasp but he's too strong. I grab a knife but he knocks it away. Suddenly I'm being pushed up against a tree.

"Oh no, Clove, no more of this playing hard to get." He growls and I struggle to free my hands from his grip. He looks me up and down. "You're no Glimmer sure but you'll do for now, perhaps I'll keep you around for a little while longer until I kill you." He spits in my face and smirks at me. He moves my arms so he can hold both of them down with one of his hands and starts to push my backpack off.

I try to kick him but he's learnt to avoid my kicks. "Be still Clove, you might enjoy this." He says sarcastically.

"Get the fuck off me." I scream, trying desperately to get my hands free as he removes my knife vest. I panic when he reaches for my trousers and increase my struggling. He smirks at me undoes his zipper.

Suddenly a tree behind him falls to the side, narrowly missing us. Cato releases his grip and turns to the tree in shock. I run, I've never ran this fast before in my life. I have to get away. Once I slow down to catch my breath I contemplate how lucky I was that the tree fell when it did. I guess that the gamemakers caused it not liking what Cato was doing.

I decide to go find Katniss, I have no idea where she could be but I need to find her. I don't have to look for long as I hear some hysterical sobbing after walking for a few minutes. I approach the sound, needing to get to Katniss, to comfort her.

I pause when I see her, my mouth falling open slightly. Katniss is on her knees, a knife in her hand, she lowers the knife onto her arm and slices it open. I rush forwards as she goes to repeat the act, grabbing her to stop her hurting herself.

She struggles to get out of my grip . "Katniss, stop this. Please!" I beg desperately. She looks at me, the expression on her face almost brings tears to my eyes. She looks so lost and upset. She drops the knife and I pull her into my arms, needing to comfort her, to chase away her pain. "It's ok." I whisper trying to calm her down.

She sobs into my shoulder, she's making a lot of noise and I worry about other tribute finding us. I have no knives, I know I probably won't be able to use Katniss's bow effectively and I don't think Katniss is in any condition to use it right now either.

I try to calm her but she seems unable to keep quiet. I glance around nervously. "Please Katniss, it's not safe, if we're discovered…." I murmur but she can't seem to quieten her sobs.

"I'm..S…Sorry." She chokes out and I hold her tighter, I reassure her that it's ok not wanting her to get more distressed. Eventually she calms down and I can't help but feel relieved. I push her away and look into her eyes.

She leans in and kisses me, I kiss her back for a while a then pull away. I smile at her but she doesn't return it. I look down at her arm, wanting to see the extent of the damage.

"Katniss!" I exclaim when I see the severity of the wounds. She follows my gaze and gulps, looking away, I wonder if she knew how deep she was cutting when she did it, from her expression I guess she didn't.

"I'm sorry." She whispers, I shake my head, she shouldn't be sorry, I place a kiss on her forehead, making sure she knows she has nothing to be sorry for.

"Don't be." I murmur gently, I reach for the bottle of water at my belt and pour some of the clean water over her wounds, She hisses in pain as it hits the wounds. "Sorry, we've got to keep them clean." I tell her. I didn't want her getting an infection and this is the best I can do. I had a first aid kit in my backpack but Cato has that now.

"We? Aren't you going back to Cato?" She asks and I shake my head. I explain that I don't want to be alone with him now Marvel is dead. "Marvel was the boy from 1?" She asks and I nod my head, feeling a little sad at the thought of his death.

Katniss tells me he killed Rue, I nod, I'd already guessed that but from the lost look on Katniss' face I can see she needed to say it. She seems to be trying to tell me something else and from the guilt in her eyes I guess what it is.

"And you killed him." She nods slowly avoiding eye contact.

"I'm sorry." She whispers and I reach for her hand, giving it a slight squeeze to reassure her that I don't blame her for Marvel's death.

"You did what you had to." I tell her, she looks up at me. After a moment a smile forms on her lips and my stomach does a little backflip, she's so beautiful, I grin at her, "You're prettier when you smile." I whisper, leaning close to her to capture he lips with mine.

I pull away, "We should keep moving." I say and she agrees. As she stands she asks me where my pack and knives are. I tell her briefly what Cato tried to do and how he has them now. She looks angry and I almost regret telling her. She promises we'll get them back and I roll my eyes.

"It doesn't matter, come on let's get moving." I say and she follows me. She walks close to me and after a few minutes' pulls her knife from her belt. She hands it to me, I look at her questioningly.

"You should have it…since you can use it better than me." I nod and accept the weapon feeling marginally better to have something to fight with, even if it was only one knife. We walk for a while, Katniss manages to kill a rabbit that she sees run across our path and we decide to stop to cook it.

Katniss shows me what she has in her pack. I'm glad she seems to have some useful items, her hands hover over a spare pair of socks and a small almost empty water bottle. "These were Rue's" She whispers and I take her hand reassuringly.

I wish she had taken Marvel's pack, I know he had a first aid kit in his pack. As we cook the rabbit Katniss caught earlier I hear a familiar beeping sound. I look up and see a silver parachute land next to Katniss. I desperately hope the parachute contains the medical supplies for Katniss' arm.

Katniss opens the capsule and pulls out a small bread roll. He face is still as she stares at it. I wonder why a sponsor would send her bread when she had plenty of food right here with the rabbit cooking and the few edible berries in Katniss's pack that Rue had picked.

Katniss looks up "Thank you, People of District 11." She says, I frown, it's unusual for the districts to sponsor the tributes, it cost far too much and it was even stranger that they would sponsor a tribute from another district.

Then I remember Rue's body, covered in flowers, they were acknowledging that. Katniss breaks the bread in half and hands half to me. I hold my hands up. "No you keep it, it's your gift." I say but she shakes her head.

"I want you to have it." She says and I accept, she scoots close to me and leans against me. I bite into the bread, it's not like the bread I'm used to, it's made of a dark grain and is sprinkled with seeds. Katniss eats her half of the roll.

"How'd you know where the bread came from?" I ask.

"Peeta, he's a baker, he showed me the different types of bread from each district during training." She tells me and I nod, I wonder how Peeta is doing, I know he hasn't died yet. I sigh and look up at the sky.

The rabbit finishes cooking and we eat a bit of it, storing the majority in Katniss's pack. After putting out the fire we walk for a couple of hours before choosing a tree to spend to night in. Katniss insists we share the sleeping bag and I agree.

We lie there in the darkness, I'm wearing the night vision glasses from Katniss' pack. I'll be taking the first watch tonight. Katniss leans against me, wide awake. "Get some sleep." I whisper, kissing her cheek gently. She shakes her head.

"I don't want this moment to end, I want to be here with you, like this forever." She whispers and I can't help but smile.

"I love you." I say, kissing her cheek once again, she grins at me in the darkness, unable to see my face but knowing I'm here.

"I love you too." She closes her eyes and within moments is fast asleep. I watch her for a while before returning my attention to the surrounding forest.


	23. Chapter 23

_Katniss POV:_

The sun on my face wakes me. I open my eyes and I'm pleased to find Clove there next to me. I look up at her, she was supposed to wake me halfway through the night, so she could sleep. She smiles down at me. "Morning." She says and I sit up.

"You were supposed to wake me." I say and she shakes her head.

"You looked comfortable." She says.

"So, next time wake me up, you need sleep to Clove." I say, she smirks at me and I kiss her. Why is she so irresistible? I pull away and stare into her beautiful eyes. Suddenly trumpets sound, Clove sits up straighter.

The trumpets signal an announcement, usually calling the remaining tributes to a feast. I listen intently wondering if we could use this feast to take out some competition. The announcement isn't about a feast though.

"Attention tributes, there has been a slight rule change. From now on two tributes may win the games."

I blink slowly as the message is repeated. Two tributes, two tributes can win! I look at Clove who's grinning. "We can win! Together!" I say grinning back at her. Her eyes glow with warmth as she presses her lips against mine.

I could live and be with Clove. I've never felt so happy in my life. I kiss her back eagerly. I pull away to breath. I stare into Clove's eyes. "We should get moving." She whispers and I nod in agreement. We extract ourselves from the sleeping bag and pack it away. Clove has already put the night vision glasses away.

We head towards the river, hoping to refill our water bottles. Clove offers to carry the backpack and I agree gratefully, tired of lugging the bag around after all this time. The river isn't far and we gratefully refill our water bottles before deciding to head downstream.

We keep walking, only stopping to hunt and eat, Clove manages to throw her knife at a fish in the shallows of the river, killing it instantly, she retrieves the fish and her knife and we eat the entire fish for lunch.

When the sun begins to set we climb up a tree, I insist on taking the first watch, knowing Clove will only stay up all night if I go to sleep before her. She's tired, I can tell as she doesn't put up much of a fight.

We share the sleeping bag and Clove snuggles close to me while I keep watch using the night vision glasses. I watch her sleep, we can win this, I remind myself, causing me to grin. We can both come out of this alive.

I hear a noise and I turn abruptly, wincing as I brush my arm against the rough bark. I peer into the darkness and am relieved to see the noise was just an owl catching a mouse. The owl flies off with its kill clutched tightly in its talons.

After a few hours a feel Clove stir. Her breathing quickens she tries to pull away from me. I hold her tighter not wanting her to fall out of the tree. She whimpers and struggles against my grip, she's having a nightmare, I realise.

I shake her shoulder gently. "Hey, Clove wake up, it's ok." I whisper not wanting to alert any tributes that could be in the area to our presence. Her eyes snap open and I find her holding a knife to my throat.

"C…Clove, it's me.. .It's Katniss." I whisper urgently, she gasps and pulls the knife away, tears filling her eyes.

"Katniss? I…I'm sorry." She stutters. I shake my head slowly even though she can't see me in the darkness. I gently place a hand either side of her face and wipe away her tears with my thumb.

"It's ok." I whisper as I place a kiss on her forehead. "Was it a nightmare?" I ask and she nods her head, keeping her eyes closed. I pull her into a hug and she buries her face in my shoulder, silently crying.

I hold her silently, allowing her to cry. "Want to talk about it?" I ask quietly. She pulls away, wiping her eyes.

"It was just Cato….He…He killed you and then he was going to…" She shakes her head and I understand she doesn't want to talk about it anymore. "I'm so sorry Katniss, did I hurt you?"

"It's ok, I'm fine." I say touching my neck and feeling no mark there. She shakes her head.

"It's not ok. I could've killed you!" She almost shrieks. I shake my head even though she cannot see me.

"But you didn't, that's what matters." I whisper, pulling her close to me once more. She lets out a shuddering breath.

"I couldn't live with myself, if I killed you. You're everything to me." She whispers, I find her lips and kiss her, trying to convey how much I love her. She pulls away after a few minutes and smiles. "You should get some sleep." She whispers and I nod.

I remove the night vision glasses, the sudden plunge into darkness confuses me for a minute before I pass the glasses to her. I snuggle up to her and close my eyes as Clove wraps her arm around me. I try to sleep, my arm is hurting much more than I thought it would. Absentmindedly and cradle it with my uninjured arm, willing myself to ignore the pain and drift off to sleep. Eventually I succeed and the next thing I know Clove is waking me, the sun is beginning to rise and she wants to get moving, not wanting to be in the tree during daylight, it's too easy to be spotted.

We continue walking along the river. Around midday Clove suggests we hunt for food, my arm has been throbbing painfully all morning and it makes using the bow difficult but I say nothing, not wanting Clove to worry.

Clove notices my impaired use of the bow and raises an eyebrow at me. "You ok Katniss?" She asks as I miss for the 7th time, I nod but she doesn't seem convinced, I retrieve my arrow to avoid looking at her.

Eventually Clove throws her knife at a pigeon killing it. I'm glad I can stop using my bow, moving my arm is agonising but i ignore it. We make a fire a fair distance from the river and start to cook the pigeon. I offer to go to the river to refill our water bottles and Clove agrees reluctantly.

Before I leave she gives me a long, hard look. She knows something's wrong but I don't want her to worry. Once I've refilled the water bottles I cautiously roll up my sleeve, fearing and yet knowing exactly what I'll find.

"Shit!" I exclaim when I see the state of the wounds, I know they're infected, my arm has swollen up, the area surrounding the wounds is bright red and yellowish pus seeps out of the deepest cut. I turn and almost throw up.

I stare at my arm for a moment, cursing myself. Cinna warned me this could happen if I cut in the arena. I shake my head, there's nothing I can do but hope a sponsor decides to send me medicine. I use some clean water to wash out the wounds, not sure what else to do. I wish I could remember what my mother tried to teach me about infections.

I roll down my sleeve and return to Clove. Clove looks up as I approach, she instantly takes in my pale face and wide eyes, she rushes to my side. "Katniss! What's wrong?" She asks, I shake my head forcing a grin onto my face.

"Noting I'm fine." She can't know, it will only make her worry. She stares at me searchingly, she knows I'm lying but she isn't sure why. She frowns, pursing her lips.

"You sure?" She asks seriously and I nod my head, forcing myself to keep the grin on my face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I say and she nods her head slowly, not quite believing me. I sit down next to the fire and we share the pigeon that Clove caught. Once we've finished eating we follow the river.

After a few hours I find myself tripping over a strangely shaped rock. "Kat…niss." I start when I see the rock open two eyes. I recognise Peeta lying in the mud, he's covered himself in mud to camouflage himself.

Clove, who had been walking a few paces behind me rushes to my side. She doesn't see Peeta at first, Peeta tenses when he sees her, He reaches out and grabs her leg causing her to trip. "Run! Kat…niss run!" He chokes, I shake my head and help Clove up. I shoot a glare Peeta's way.

I look over Peeta, he has a large gash on his leg that I can see is infected. I know he'll die soon. "How long have you been here?" I ask him.

"Few days, s…Since the tracker jackers…" He nods towards his leg. "C..Cato did that…He was...Wasn't happy…you escaped." I kneel down beside him feeling conflicted. Only two tributes can make it out of the arena alive. I felt nothing towards him but he saved my life all those years ago, didn't I owe him?

I shake my head remembering his manipulation of the Capitol. Anger flares up in me and I almost leave him there. His eyes travel to Clove. "S…So you're an alliance?" He asks and Clove nods. "H…heard the announcement… You intend to W…Win together?" He stutters and again Clove nods, I can see she doesn't like Peeta, she glares at him gripping her knife tightly as if wishing she could throw it at his throat.

Peeta nods slowly. "I'm…Going to die any…way." He closes his eyes for a moment before turning to me. " I wasn't lying you know...When I said that I loved you." He whispers and I glare at him.

"I thought we already covered this." I say coldly. I don't love him back, he knows that. He nods and holds up his hands in surrender.

"I know, I just…Wanted you to know..." With that he lets out a long breath and becomes still. A canon sounds making me jump. I look over to Clove, she's watching me curiously. I nod towards her, not sure how I feel about Peeta's death, I by no means liked him but he saved my life. I feel guilty that I feel nothing.

"We should keep moving." I say and Clove agrees walking next to me. Once we've walked a fair distance away we turn just in time to see a hovercraft appear in the sky to take Peeta's body away. I watch the hovercraft fly away expressionlessly. Clove takes my hand and gives it a squeeze.

"You ok?" She asks and I shrug truthfully.

"I guess…" I whisper.

"Only you guess?" It's ok to be upset you know, he was from your district."

"He wasn't my friend…But he was a good guy." I mutter and Clove squeezes my hand again. We find a small cave and deicide to spend the night. I'm glad as I'm not sure I can manage climbing a tree right now, my head hurts and my limbs feel extremely heavy and are aching slightly.

Clove offers me some left over pigeon and I shake my head not feeling hungry, I shiver even though I feel incredibly hot. She frowns before scooting closer to me. "Are you ok?" She whispers, I nod slowly and she scowls at me. "No you're not, I can see that."

She pulls out the sleeping bag and makes me lie down. She bites her lip for a moment before hesitantly reaching for my sleeve. I scrunch my eyes shut as she pulls it up. I hear her gasp and when I open my eyes she's looking at me fearfully. "Oh Katniss, why didn't you tell me?" She asks, indicating to my infected arm.

"Didn't want to worry you." I murmur and she shakes her head placing a kiss on my forehead.

"We'll get this sorted out, I promise." She whispers, she says something else but I can't make it out, suddenly feeling exhausted, my eyes shit on their own accord and slip into a deep sleep.


	24. Chapter 24

_Clove POV:_

"We'll get this sorted out, I promise." I whisper as Katniss closes her eyes. "We'll just get you some medicine." I watch Katniss's sleeping face for a moment before placing another kiss on her forehead.

I sit back and glance to the exit of the cave, it's dark outside. I nibble some pigeon worriedly, wishing a sponsor would send some medicine. I wonder if there's any plant in the forest that could help, but I know nothing of plants.

I put on the night vision glasses, deciding to keep watch while Katniss sleeps. I remember the leaves Rue used on Katniss's tracker jacker stings. She said those leaves could draw out poison. Did that mean they could draw out infection too? I wonder.

It's worth a shot if I could find some I decide. It's too dark now, First thing in the morning I will go out a look for those leaves, I decide. I keep watch though most of the night before succumbing to sleep, we're probably safe enough in this cave.

I awake when I hear an incessant beeping noise. I sit up instantly when I recognise it. Sponsors! I run outside to find a parachute in the mouth of the cave. I drag it inside and open the capsule, desperately hoping for the medicine Katniss needs.

I'm disappointed when all it contains is some kind of stew. I shrug, we need food as well and it doesn't look like Katniss will be able to hunt any time soon. I approach Katniss and shake her shoulder. She opens her eyes groggily and I tell he about the stew.

"I'm not hungry." She says but I shake my head, helping her up and making her lean against the wall of the cave.

"You've got to eat." I tell her giving her some of the stew. She eats a few mouthfuls before turning away.

"Please Clove, I'm not hungry." She mutters, her eyes find mine and we stare at each other for a while. She needs to eat but I know I won't be able to force her. I nod my head slowly and make her drink, hoping the water will give her an appetite but it doesn't. She drinks the whole bottle of water thirstily and I'm glad she has something in her.

I stand up slowly. "I'll be back soon." I say and she grabs my arm.

"Where are you going? I'll come with you." She tries to get up but I push her down, nothing good will come of her following me through the forest on my search for those leaves, she'll be safer here.

"I'm going to look for some of those leaves that relieve tracker jacker stings, they might help." I tell her indicating to her arm. "Stay here, it's safer here." I lean down and place a gentle kiss on her lips. When I pull away she reaches for me again.

"Be back soon Clove." She whispers, I can see her eyes closing as sleep takes over. I leave the cave, trying not to worry about other tributes finding Katniss. The cave entrance is small and mostly concealed by leaves so it's not likely. I take nothing with me but my knife and a bottle of water.

I wander through the forest, keeping my senses alert and scanning the plants around me, Hoping to see the distinctive shape of the leaves I'm looking for. I'm not having much luck and something tells me I'd find them if I strayed further away but I want to be near to the cave, so I can get back there quickly if I need to.

It's about midday and my stomach rumbles loudly, I reluctantly turn away from my search, not really wanting to return empty handed. A cannon sounds through the quiet forest and I tense. Katniss! I start running, heading towards the cave. Hoping desperately that cannon wasn't for who I thought it was for.

I burst into the cave and Katniss looks at me blearily. She's alive, I rush to her side and take her in my arms. She hugs me back. "I heard the cannon, I thought it was for you." I whisper. When I pull away she smiles at me before brushing some hair out of my face.

"I'm still here, I'm still alive." She says and I nod.

"I didn't find the leaves, I'll go look again after I've eaten." I say but she shakes her head.

"Please don't leave me." She whispers and I bite my lip, I want to stay with her but those leaves could save her life. I eat some of the stew that was sent to us and give some to Katniss. She eats a little, I can see she doesn't want it but she eats it after I plead with her for a few minutes.

I go looking for the leaves once again, leaving Katniss asleep, I don't go as far from the cave entrance as I did before and I return to the cave empty handed as the sun sets. Katniss is asleep when I return. I watch her shivering in the darkness through the night vision glasses.

The national anthem starts to play and I move myself to the cave entrance to see who it was that died today. I see the face of the boy from District 11 appear in the sky and retreat into the cave.

If the boy from 11 is dead then it only left Cato and the girl from 5 to take out. I move close to Katniss, if I can get her some medicine then we can make it. We can get out of this. I snuggle close to her and close my eyes.

I awake suddenly, Katniss squirms next to me. "Dad run!" She whimpers, I realise she's having a nightmare, I shake her shoulder.

"Katniss, wake up." I murmur, I can feel she's shivering violently and the heat coming off her worries me.

"C..Clove?" She stutters.

"I'm here, it's ok." I pull her into my arms briefly. She relaxes into my arms and starts telling me about how she'd dreamed she saw her father enter the mines and was screaming at him to run as the mine exploded. I hold her tighter not knowing what else to do.

Eventually she falls asleep, still shivering violently. I settle down next to her but am unable to fall asleep. The sun rises a few hours later and I get up. In the daylight I can see that Katniss looks terrible. I place a hand on her forehead, she's burning up.

I search though her bag and find one of her spare socks that she got off Rue, I soak it with water, deciding it will make a good enough cloth and try to use the water to cool her down. I leave the sock soaked in water on her forehead and wake her up to drink. She does so and I'm glad she is still drinking, I don't offer her food, knowing that she probably won't want it.

I help Katniss take her jacket toff, hoping it will help her cool down and wince when I see her arm. She needs some medicine or her infection is just going to get worse, I clean the wounds unsure if that will help but feeling that some of the pus should be cleaned out of the wounds.

I look up at Katniss, she's slipped off to sleep, I bite my lip anxiously, I don't want to leave her but I need to find something that can help. I'm not so sure the leaves will help her but I have to try.

I'm about to leave the cave when I hear a beeping sound. I rush outside to find a parachute, eagerly I grab it, hoping desperately that it contains what I need. I open the capsule and find a small silver pot within, On the lip it says it contains a salve to help fight infection.

I dash back inside. I open the pot and smear some of the dark reddish goo onto Katniss's arm. She sighs in her sleep and I wonder if it's taking affect. I place her head on my lap and stroke her cheek, hoping she'll wake up and be ok soon, I have no idea how long the salve will take to work.

Around midday Katniss stirs. "Clove? You there?" She says, not opening her eyes.

"Shh, I'm here." I whisper and she relaxes. She still feeling hot but the heat has reduced. I take that as a good sign. Katniss opens her eyes and I smile at her.

"My arm feels better." She says and my smile turns into a grin. I show her the pot of salve.

"It should do, look what we got sent." She smiles weakly and tries to sit up but I hold her down, not sure that she should be doing too much activity.

"Is that medicine from a sponsor?" She asks and I nod. She closes her eyes and I assume she's gone back to sleep but then she speaks again. "I'm hungry." She opens her eyes and I grin once more. Gently I help her sit up we share the remainder of our food supplies.

She devours the food hungrily and I'm pleased to see her appetite has returned. I make sure she drinks before she falls back asleep and then settle down next to her. My stomach rumbles as the evening approaches but I ignore it. I'll find food tomorrow and Katniss can come with me and hunt if the medicine takes full affect by then.

The next day, I find Katniss awake before me. She grins at me and I sit up. I notice she's put her jacket back on and is adding iodine to now full bottles of water.

"That salve really did the trick." I says playfully and I'm surprised when she hugs me.

"Thank you." She whispers and I frown, wondering why she's thanking me. "For staying with me, I love you." She kisses me on the lips and I kiss her back.

"You don't need to thank me Katniss." I whisper when she pulls and away and she shrugs, kissing me again for a few seconds before pulling away.

Katniss reaches for her quiver of arrows and touches each arrow. "Only 3 arrows left." She murmurs. "I'll have to be careful hunting so I don't break them." I nod in understanding.

"I wish I still had all my knives." I say fiddling with the single knife Katniss had given me. We sigh and leave the cave, taking all of our things with us, not wanting to return. Katniss wanders off to hunt and I stay near the river, keeping alert in case she needs me. I examine the water, I can see fish swimming in the deep area but decide not to try to catch them, in case I lose my only weapon.

I hear Katniss curse and she appears from behind a bush carrying a dead squirrel with half an arrow protruding from its eye. We cook the squirrel and Katniss tells me how the arrow broke when it hit the squirrel.


	25. Chapter 25

_Katniss POV:_

Clove and I spend the night in a tree. In the morning we climb down, I frown feeling as if something is wrong, no birds are singing, the forest is quiet, too quiet. Clove seems to pick up on this too as she grabs my hand squeezing it slightly before indicating we should keep moving.

We've only been walking for a few minutes when a tree falls in front of us, narrowly missing us. I share a look with Clove as more trees start to fall around us. We run, the falling trees seem to be pushing us in a certain direction. I know the gamemakers are behind this. We burst out into the cornucopia clearing.

I fall to my knees panting, I guess I'm not fully recovered from my fever. Clove grabs my shoulder and throws me back. When I look up I see a knife in the ground right where I was. I look up to see Cato smirking at us about a metre away. He twirls a knife around in his fingers and I recognise Clove's knife vest slung over his shoulder.

"Well well, if it isn't Clove and the fire girl." He looks between us. "So you teamed up did you? How pathetic." Clove scowls and throws her knife at his head but Cato is expecting the move and ducks down, the knife cuts away a few strands of hair.

"I should've known you'd betray your district Clove." He smirks as he raises another knife. I grab my bow and nock an arrow firing it at him but again he expects the move, dodging to the side. I nock another arrow and hold it there, not wanting to release it and miss as it is my last arrow.

Cato laughs. "Going to kill me fire girl?" He smirks and raises his knife throwing it at my head. I throw myself to the side frantically, the knife cuts my jacket but doesn't touch my skin. Clove pounces on Cato, knocking him to the ground as he didn't expect that move.

"Katniss, get out of here!" Clove shouts and she wrestles with the larger and stronger tribute. I raise my bow trying to take aim. I need to hit Cato but the battle between the two is too fast, if I release the bow string there's too much of a chance I'll hit Clove.

Cato pushes Clove to the ground holding her there just as I fire the arrow. The arrow hits Cato in the leg and he screams, releasing Clove. Clove runs towards me and I turn and flee. We disappear into the forest, desperately hoping Cato won't follow.

We stop to breath, now neither of us has a means to defend ourselves with. I clutch my useless bow and contemplate throwing it away but think better of it as I sling it over my shoulder. "What do we do now?" I ask and Clove shrugs not looking at me.

We start walking, I can tell by her tense shoulders and he way she holds her jaw that Clove is angry. I reach for her hand but she pulls it away. "What's wrong?" I ask gently and she shakes her head.

"We have no weapons! What the hell are we going to do with no weapons?" She snaps, she turns to me, biting her lip, she's afraid, I realise. She's afraid we'll die because we are unable to defend ourselves.

"It'll be ok, we'll think of something." I say and she nods looking unconvinced, I hold out my hand and she takes it.

By nightfall we are a fair distance from the cornucopia and Cato. Clove is silent, probably wondering how we will obtain weapons.

"Attention tributes!" A voice sounds in the sky and we look up alarmed. "There will be a feast at sunrise, this will be no ordinary occasion, each of you needs something greatly and we, being generous hosts have decided to provide you with the things you so desperately need."

I share a look with Clove. We both know what there will be for us at the feast, knives and arrows. But Cato will be there, and so will Foxface. "Should we go?" I ask unsurely.

"I think we should, we won't get far without weapons." She says, I'm not sure I like the idea and I voice my doubts. She shrugs looking unsure. "But it's the best chance we've got." She whispers, reluctantly I agree and we decide to start heading in the direction of the cornucopia.

It's dark and we only have one pair of night vision glasses so I find myself being led by Clove who's wearing them. It terrifying traveling in the pitch black with all the forest sounds around only feeling Clove's hand in mine keeps me calm as I follow her trusting her to make sure I avoid obstacles in my path.

Eventually we stop to rest and I take the first watch while Clove gets some sleep. After an hour or so I wake Clove and start to lead her though the forest towards the cornucopia. When we stop again Clove takes watch while I sleep.

Clove wakes me, it's still dark but we have to get to the cornucopia before sunrise. I follow her through the darkness and we stop at the edge of the cornucopia clearing. The sun starts to rise and I become more aware of the things around me.

I can't see Cato or Foxface anywhere. Once the sun has risen in the sky the ground around the cornucopia opens up and a table with 3 bags rises from the ground. I squint at the bags one says 2 on it while another say 5. The last bag has both the numbers 2 and 12 on it, that's our bag I realise.

Suddenly Foxface shoots out of the cornucopia, grabbing the bag which says 5 and dashing off with it. I scowl, wishing we'd thought of such a brilliant plan. "I'm faster than you." Clove whispers, "I'll run in there and grab the bag, you stay here and shout if you see Cato." I nod in agreement and watch as she dashes forwards.

She grabs the bag and starts running back to me when a knife flies out of the bushes far away from me. The knife misses her by miles but I see Cato charge out of the bush. Clove sees him and increases her speed.

Cato is fast but not as fast as Clove, when she reaches me she grabs my arm, dragging me with her as she runs. I hear a frustrated scream behind me and resist the urge to look back. We run until we can't run anymore, collapsing on the ground we gasp for breath.

Once I can breathe again I reach for the bag Clove retrieved. I open it and I'm glad to see a vest holding 6 knives for Clove and 6 arrows for me. I pass Clove the vest who puts it on gratefully. I put the arrows in my quiver and sigh, I feel safer now I have arrows.

"We did it!" I exclaim, hugging Clove. She grins at me, I can see she's happier now she's armed. We walk for a while before deciding to hunt. I wander away from Clove, hoping to find a squirrel or something.

I spot a pigeon in the trees, carefully I take aim. When I release the bowstring I grin as the arrow flies through the air, hitting the pigeon in the heart. I go to collect my kill and arrow.

We cook the pigeon and eat it. Clove managed to find some wild strawberries, I devour a few, savouring the flavour, it's been so long since I've eaten strawberries. I close my eyes as I remember my home district.

I wonder how Prim is doing. I bite my lip, hoping that she' s ok. I'll get out of here and so will Clove. I'll go home and make sure Prim's ok, make sure my mother is looking after her, I desperately hope Prim isn't starving. "You ok?" I look up to see Clove looking at me a concerned expression on her face.

"Yeah." I say and she rolls her eyes.

"I can see you're not, and last time I could see you were lying and left it you ended up having an infection." She says irritably reaching for my hand. "What's wrong?" She says softly and I shrug.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about Prim." I whisper and Clove moves closer to me. I lean against her as she puts her arm around me.

"I'm sure she's ok." She murmurs and I nod but don't pull away, loving being so close to her. We spend the night in a nearby tree. I sigh as I lean against Clove savouring the feeling of her closeness. She kisses my cheek and I can't help but smile.

The next morning we eat the remainder of the wild strawberries for breakfast. Clove frowns when we return to the bush. "I could've sworn I left more strawberries than this on the bush." She murmurs and I shrug.

"An animal probably got to them." I say and she nods slowly. We take the remainder of the ripe strawberries and I wander off to hunt. I'm about to shoot down a squirrel when I hear a cannon sound through the trees.

"Clove!" I scream running towards where I left Clove. What if she's dead. I freeze when I see a neat pile of berries on the ground. I recognise those berries. Frantically I rush through the bushes and crash into Clove.

I knock the berries out of her hand "What are you doing! That's nightlock Clove! You'd be dead in a minute!" I wrap my arms around Clove's neck, holding on to her tightly. I'm shaking but I can't help it, I could've lost her.

Clove pushes me away and looks me in the yes. "I'm sorry, I...I didn't know! They... They looked like blueberries to me." She says, I stare into her eyes and press a desperate kiss on her lips.

"I thought I'd lost you." I whisper as I pull away and Clove hugs me tightly. When she pulls away we walk through the nightlock bushes, wondering who it was who died. We stop when we see Foxface lying on the ground.

She has berry juice around her mouth and still holds a handful of berries in her hand. I kneel down beside her. "She must've been following us." Clove whispers. I nod in agreement and stare at her motionless face. Her empty eyes unnerve me and I find myself closing them.

I stare at the berries in her hand and reach for them. "What are you doing?" Clove asks and I look up at her.

"If you didn't know about Nightlock, maybe Cato doesn't either." I say and she nods in understanding. I stand up. "Just him left now." I whisper.

"We should find him, let's end this quickly." Clove says and I can only agree. As we walk towards the cornucopia where we know Cato will probably be the sky gets darker. I frown knowing the gamemakers are behind this early nightfall.

Clove reaches for my hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. She grabs and knife from her vest in readiness and I nock and arrow. I narrow my eyes, this is the finale, the gamemakers usually put a new element into the finale, to make it more dangerous. My heart hammers in my chest as I continue walking beside Clove. Glancing at her I see she's just as uneasy as I am.


	26. Chapter 26

_Clove POV:_

It's dark but still light enough to see. The forest has gone completely quiet. I grip the knife in my hand to reassure myself. I walk next to Katniss and scan the bushes around me watching for Cato. I frown when I hear a strange grunting noise to my left.

I turn raising my knife ready to throw it. Katniss turns to her right, covering my back. I squint at the bush when I hear the grunting again. I hold my breath as my heart hammers in my chest. This isn't Cato. This is the extra element the gamemakers have decided to throw at us for a more interesting finale.

Suddenly a huge dog-like creature bursts out of the bush I throw my knife and it hits it in the heart. I feel Katniss grabbing my arm and dragging me away. We run as fast as we can towards the cornucopia. I can hear snarling and barking behind me. I risk a glance behind me and see the 4 of the creatures are chasing us.

I look into the eyes of the first one and my heart stop when I recognise those eyes. Marvel? No it's not Marvel, just a mutt that the Capitol has made, using his eyes. I feel sick and increase my speed, dragging Katniss behind me.

We reach the cornucopia and I give Katniss a leg up onto the top, she reaches down and pulls me up as the mutts snap at my legs. I yelp as they're teeth sink into my leg. Once on top of the cornucopia I look down. There's' 21 mutts around us. I assume each mutt has the eyes of a tribute. I spot the smallest mutt with Rue's eyes and a light coloured one with Glimmer's eyes.

"Clove…Their eyes." Katniss says and I nod, squeezing her hand gently. I look at her and see she feels just as sick as I do. Suddenly arms are pulling me back, I can't breath. "Clove!" Katniss screams as she nocks an arrow.

I wrestle with the person holding me that I know to be Cato but he's too strong. I hear him laugh and I take his distraction to kick him away from me, the movement causing my injured leg to give away and I find myself kneeing. I grab a knife and throw it at him but he rolls away. He lunges at me and I see an arrow fly over his shoulder. We wrestle on the ground until he hits me on the head.

He laughs as I stagger away from him seeing stars. I turn dizzily and see him holding Katniss down by the neck, her head over the edge as mutts jump up, trying to bite her. I throw a knife aiming for his head but due to my dizziness only hit him in the shoulder.

He screams and lunges at me, knocking me down. I see Katniss pull herself up, gasping for breath. She grabs her bow and nocks an arrow. Cato holds me by the neck in a position I know he can easily break my neck with just a slight movement of his hands.

I see Katniss standing on the other side of the Cornucopia, An arrow pointing at Cato's head. Her eyes find mine, she looks absolutely terrified, I struggle for a moment against Cato's grip but I know there's nothing I can do. "Go on, shoot, then we both go down and you win." Cato says mockingly. I realise we're standing on the edge of the cornucopia, mutts snap eagerly at the bottom, waiting for us to fall.

Katniss lowers her bow, I try to tell her to shoot and just let me die so she can live but I can't get anything out beside a gargling sound as Cato restricts my breathing. She looks down and Cato laughs he moves to snap my neck and she raises the bow one more. "Oh, still got some fight in you then?" He mocks. I clench my jaw and try to pull away from him.

I see Katniss staring at me hopelessly. An idea springs to mind, Katniss has a clear shot of Cato's hand. My eyes meet hers and I tap his hand with my finger. She looks at me, her eyes widening and I repeat the act. She pulls back the bowstring and releases the arrow.

It hits its mark and Cato yelps, loosening his grip. I'm able to pulls away from him and I throw a knife at his throat. He falls backwards, clutching his neck as he splutters. The cannon sounds, indicating he's dead before he hits the ground. I hear the mutts rip him to shreds before they wander off into the forest.

I turn to Katniss who's looking at me with wide eyes. I walk over to her, holding my arms out to her, she melts into them and releases a sigh. "I thought I was going to lose you." She whispers, I pull away and place a kiss on her lips which she returns eagerly.

"We did it!" I say as realisation dawns on me. "We're the last two, we've won." Katniss stares at me and a grin slowly spreads across her face. She hugs me tightly and I return the hug.

"I love you." She whispers when she pulls away, she gives me that goofy grin that I've come to love and I kiss her. We climb down from the cornucopia, watching the sky. A hovercraft should be on its way to take us away from the arena.

Trumpets sound and Katniss jumps nocking an arrow anxiously. I grab a knife, not sure if I should be ready for a fight. "Attention tributes, the previous rule change allowing two tributes to win the games has been revoked, there may be only one victor, may the odds be ever in your favour."

I drop my knife, looking down. I feel like I've been stabbed. How dare they? We've already won, this just isn't fair. I turn to Katniss who's staring at me her bow still in her hands, the arrow pointing to the ground. I hold my arms out, giving her a clear shot of my chest and throat.

"Go ahead, you need to go home." I say, her eyes widen and she shakes her head frantically. She glances as the bow in her hands and scowls at it before throwing it across the clearing.

"I'm not going to kill you Clove." She says, looking me directly in the yes. I shake my head.

"You have to. You have to go home, you have to live and to do that I must die." I clench my teeth at the pitiful sound of my voice, Katniss shakes her head.

"Clove, I can't live without you…I….Please…Just make it quick." She raises her head giving me a clear shot of her throat. I shake my head and pull my knife vest off, throwing it over towards her bow.

"I'm not going to kill you Katniss." I snarl. I look away, hating the Capitol for doing this. I am not going to hurt the girl I love in any way. When I look back at Katniss I can see the lost look in her eyes. She reaches into her pocket and pulls something out.

"If…If you won't kill me…" She looks up from her hand and takes a deep breath, "Then I will!" She opens her hand and I instantly recognise the berries in her hand.

"No!" I scream as she lifts them to her lips. I pounce on her wrestling her to the ground. She struggles against me. We wrestle on the ground for what seems like eternity until I manage to pin her underneath me. I hold her hand down with my foot. Keeping the berries away from her mouth. My injured leg protests at its movement but I ignore it, Katniss is more important than my comfort.

Our eyes meet, Tears trickle down her beautiful face and I resist the urge to wipe them away, I need to keep my hands on her. I won't let her kill herself. "Please Clove, let me go." She begs and I shake my head.

"Never!" I say harshly. "You're not going to kill yourself, I love you too much to allow that! _I can't live without you._" Katniss gulps as more tears fall from her eyes. This is killing me inside. I just want to hold her in my arms. But I'm scared of what she'll do if I release my grip on her.

"I have to! Clove, I can't live without you, _I love you too much_ to live without you." She shrieks, I place a kiss on her lips, desperately hoping to comfort her. She kisses me back and when I pull back she's sobbing uncontrollably.

"Get off me." She whispers once she's calmed down, I shake my head. "Please, I won't kill myself, I just, I want to be in your arms, properly." She whispers and I nod, my heart aching as I clamber off of her, she sits up, allowing the berries to fall to the floor and scoots over to me.

I wrap my arms around her holding her gently as she cries. Once she's stopped crying she looks at me for a long time. "What are we going to do?" I ask, one of us has to die and neither of us want the other to do so.

Katniss's eyes drift over to the berries and I tighten my hold on her, not wanting her to try to eat them again. "Who says there should have a victor." She snarls suddenly, she looks at me, her eyes glistening with tears and anger. She pulls away from me and gathers up the berries.

"Katniss no!" I say, rushing to her side, I'm about to wrestles her to the ground again but she stops me. She gently reaches for my hands and pulls it towards her, carefully placing half of the berries into it. I stare at them dumbfounded.

"Who says there should be a victor!" She repeats, "I can't live without you and you can't live without me. Who says one of us should live?" She asks and a small smile touches my lips and I nod in understanding. Since we can't live together then we shall die together.

"Together?" I ask and she nods.

"Together." She says and I place a kiss on her lips.

"I love you Katniss." I whisper causing her to smile.

"I love you too Clove." She whispers back. "On 3?" She asks and I nod.

"1." I say not taking my eyes of hers, wanting her to be the last thing I see.

"2." Katniss says, she reaches for my free hand and holds it tightly.

"3." I say finally, after a moment's hesitation we both raise the berries to our lips. I don't take my eyes of her or remove my hand from her grip as I open my mouth.

"Stop!" The sudden sound makes me jump and I see that Katniss is just as shocked as I am. We look around searching for the source of the voice before realising it is coming from the sky above us.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the winners of the 74th Annual Hunger Games." The voice sounds flustered and I allow the berries in my hand to drop to the floor, Katniss does the same and Suddenly I find myself in her arms, she's kissing me and I can't help but grin as the implication of the words settles on me.

"We've won." I whisper. Katniss holds me tighter and I can only wrap my arms around her, enjoying the feeling of her being so close to me, of both of us being alive. A hovercraft appears above us and I rope ladder falls down for us to climb up but I refuse to let go of Katniss.

Eventually Katniss releases her hold on me and I indicate that she should climb up first. She climbs a little way up and I join her. The ladder is pulled up and I'm glad I don't have to climb the ladder with my leg.

As soon as I'm in the hovercraft doctors start to drag me away, wanting to see to my leg. I try to squirm out of their hands but they only hold me tighter. I try to elbow them in the gut hating them for daring to touch me, only Katniss is allowed to touch me. I reach for Katniss wanting to stay with her. She runs towards me but peacekeepers grab her holding her back. "Clove!" She calls as I'm dragged through a doorway.

The door is closed and I can no longer see her. I fight against the hands holding me, desperately wanting to get to Katniss, to make sure she's ok and hating the feel of their hands on me. "Get off me!" I snarl, wishing I had my knife vest on so I could fight them off more effectively.

I start to panic when they don't let go, "Get off!" I scream. I manage to get my arm free and frantically start to punch the other people holding me. I'm not in the hovercraft anymore, I'm at home, my father trying to punish me for one thing or another.

I'm hyperventilating, I need to get away, to get back to Katniss, I feel a sharp prick in the side of my neck and suddenly my breathing slows. The room around me sways and my eyes roll back as I slip to the floor. Hands grab me before my head hits the floor and I find I can't move to fight them. Fear shoots through me before I black out.


End file.
